


set sail beneath these stars

by Vitexy



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Space, It's sounds worse than it is, M/M, Minor WooSan, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:48:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 48,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24139129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vitexy/pseuds/Vitexy
Summary: It's been over a year since San left his position in the military to sail underneath the command of a pirate. Yunho doesn't know why he left, and he doesn't care much to find out until the pirate suddenly decides to raid his ship.
Relationships: Choi San/Jeong Yunho, Jung Wooyoung/Kang Yeosang
Comments: 49
Kudos: 213





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, please ignore all the bad action sequences. It's not my forte. 
> 
> Just trying a kind of pirate au because it seems like you gotta have one in this fandom. 
> 
> Rating for the last chapter.

_My Dearest Puppy,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. By now you’ve probably heard the news. I wish I could tell you how sorry I am in person, but, well, that’s impossible now, isn’t it? I hope you do not think any less of me, and I hope even more that my actions will not reflect on your treatment. I know that I am probably being selfish, but, truly, I believe this had to be done, Yunho. If nothing else, please continue to trust me the way you always have. I promise that I will take care of you, but you must trust me. Leave the military. Go back home to our little cabin in the foothills. Do you still remember that place? You wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I’ll take care of everything, and I can come to visit whenever the Stars allow._

_I realize that this is probably all fanciful thinking on my end. I’ve promised you many things, and you probably feel like I’ve betrayed all those now. But I swear that I haven’t. I intend to keep those promises in due time. Until then, will you not wait for me?_

_Even as I write this, I wonder how furious you will be with me. I wouldn’t blame you for your anger and rage. A part of me hopes, however silly it is, that maybe you won’t be so mad. Sometimes I even trick myself into thinking you might be proud. I don’t know why. I know you better than that. But Yunho, Sailing freely in the stars is better than you can ever imagine. I love it almost as much as I love you._

_I think that is the other thing I worry about. Will you still love me after the news reaches you? Will you still love me in spite of the anger you must feel? Will you still love me when that anger fades? We never saw much of each other because of duty. I suppose this is not much different. I do not mean to downplay my status as a newborn criminal, but the options before me now are limitless compared to before._

_I love you. I truly do._

_Please, forgive me._

_With love,_

_San_

  
  
  


Yunho neatly folds up the letter, creasing the worn folds of the paper against his lap. He’s read the same damn thing hundreds of times, practically knows it by heart now. He doesn’t know why he keeps the wretched writing, scrawled out on paper like a caveman. Probably so it wouldn’t be traced, he realized days after he first received it. Reaching out to his nightstand, he slides open the drawer. Lifting up his handbook, he places the letter delicately underneath before allowing the handbook to lie on top of it. He slides the drawer shut again. 

Scrubbing his face with his hands, he groans, trying to ward off the fatigue. The little green light above his door irritates his eyes, and he feels a pounding headache beginning to form. He hasn’t looked at the letter or its contents for a long time now. Months, in fact. This cycle had brought quite a severe case of insomnia, but Yunho didn’t feel the need to trouble Yeosang about it, so in the little bit of time between the end of the green cycle and the start of the red, he opts to take the old thing out. 

It’s the last he ever heard from San who turned coat and became pirate nearly a year ago now. He’d been taken in for questioning immediately following San's desertion. Of course, _that_ had to be how the news was delivered to him. The process had been painfully humiliating. The presiding officers wanted to know everything that Yunho knew, but that was the issue. He didn’t know _anything_. Didn’t even know what they wanted from him until they spelled it out. 

San had deserted his post, and declared himself a pirate aboard the Aurora. 

Eventually, they released him. Yunho had no new information he could offer up, and San hadn’t contacted him at that point. He took a short leave from his post after that, returning home to their little cabin to sort out his thoughts. He had been in denial at that point. San wouldn’t do something like that. He had a bright future ahead of him. And, even if he did, he wouldn’t do something like that without at least warning Yunho, right? He couldn’t rationalize his own interrogation, but at that point he didn’t need to. He was in full denial. 

Of course, it was only a few days later that the letter came. Unmarked and innocuous, it was San’s confession. Yunho had immediately folded it up, ready to toss it out. This wasn’t reality. This wasn’t _his_ reality. But the letter remained on the kitchen counter for days, untouched and ignored. When he finally returned to duty, he smuggled the thing with him. 

Staring at his drawer, hands hanging between his legs, he cannot fathom why the hell he did that. His fingers twitch with the urge to dig out the letter from his drawer again. He holds back, biting on his thumb as he tries to distract himself from the thought—from the memories. The light above his door suddenly changes to red, and Yunho sighs in relief. 

Yes, a distraction. 

Sliding out of his cot, he immediately prepares for his shift, starting with changing into his work uniform. The material is warm, but lightweight, black in color and with a light blue outline to indicate his status. When he’s changed, he turns back to his bedside drawer, grabbing his scroll from the top. Tucking the compact little tablet under his arm, he heads out of his room, and by the time he’s in the mess hall with the others he’s completely forgotten about the letter. 

  
  
  
  


Hongjoong glances over at the cycle time displayed on a large clock above the entrance behind him. He huffs a little to himself, making himself cozy in his seat. San is late. Turning his attention back to the computer in front of him, he tries not to think too much about that long awaited nap he’s been looking forward to, instead trying to focus in and process the information that he’s just discovered. 

“Huh.” Hongjoong says to himself, lips parted as he stares at his screen. He’s neatly curled up on his seat, knees folded to his chest. The doors to the Bridge whir open, and he briefly turns around to see who it is. “You’re late,” he says, turning back to his screen as San crashes into the seat next to him. 

“I had a hard time getting up,” the blond admits, stretching his arms high above his head and arching his back. He yawns loudly before relaxing into the chair.

“Well, I, too, would like a nap,” Hongjoong says though he doesn’t move from his spot. 

“Then you should have called Wooyoung. I’m not too good at flying ships.” 

“You’re fine,” the elder tells him, “and we’re on autopilot right now. That’s why I called you and _not_ Wooyoung. I just need someone to keep an eye on things.” He raises an eyebrow in challenge. “Or are you not capable of doing that?” 

San tugs at his ears, refusing the meet the captain’s gaze, but it’s all just a play act to him, and Hongjoong knows this. San is more than a capable crewmate or he wouldn’t be here. “You’re the one who picked me up. You tell me,” he sniffs before leaning over to nose his way into Hongjoong’s business. “What did you find?” he asks. 

“Nothing.” Hongjoong shuts off his screen before slowly uncurling himself from his seat. Like San, he stands up and stretches his arms out with a little sigh of relief. The blond watches, chin resting in his palm, while Hongjoong stretches himself out. 

“It looked interesting,” he says when the elder is finally done with his stretches. 

“Just some data Mingi retrieved from the last ship we raided. He wasn’t sure if it was useful, so I said I would take a look into it.” 

San perks at the little tidbit of information. “Oh? From that Sartyran ship?” 

Hongjoong brushes his hair from his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Did you find anything?” San presses, leaning far enough over that it’s a miracle he doesn’t just fall out of his own seat. 

Hongjoong shrugs. “They’re a war mongering race. They’re just up to their usual shit.” San looks up at him, and the captain can’t help but smile. The blond hated not being in the loop about everything. He had to know everyone’s secrets, even this one. “It was kind of interesting though. Seems they’ve been in communication with the Empire. Odd, isn’t it?” Placing his hands on his hips he looks down at San expectantly. 

The blond holds up his hands innocently. “I was just a soldier.” 

Sighing, Hongjoong rolls his head in a circle twice. “What a lie,” he snorts, smiling at San who adamantly maintains his innocence. “So I went digging for more info and found what Empire ship they were waiting on. It’s not yours, though, so I don’t suppose you would know anything. Sounds like it’s some kind of trade agreement. I’ve been trying to get into their system as well, but they don't have much to go through.” 

“The Empire doesn’t just make trade agreements with other races,” San mutters, eyes darkening. Hongjoong pats him on the shoulder sympathetically. “You didn’t find out what it was?” he asks, eyebrows raised in surprise. 

“It wasn’t anywhere.” Hongjoong shrugs his shoulders. “I suppose it’s possible even _they_ don’t know what they’re transporting. Or they’re keeping it very hush-hush.” 

“Which ship?” San asks curiously. 

“ESS Horizon.” Hongjoong cocks his head when San goes rigid in his seat. He stares at the blond curiously. “Everything alright?” he asks when San doesn’t respond. 

The blond turns his head up to look at him, blinking innocently at his captain, but his fingers dig into the armrests of his seat betraying his tension. “Fine,” he answers curtly with a short lived smile on his lips. “Don’t you think that’s interesting though? Surely, if they’re hiding something it must be valuable, no?” 

Hongjoong smiles at the younger man, crossing his arms over his chest. It’s not like San to take such a vested interest in a mystery. He was more of the black and white kind of guy, wanting to know the value of something immediately. More than anyone, Hongjoong can say that he doesn’t know anyone else as solely driven by money as San, so why the sudden interest? Hongjoong can tell San is already trying to manipulate the situation, and he’s proud of the blond even though he can’t grasp his motives. “Could be,” he agrees with a shrug of his shoulders. “Not sure if it’s worth it though.” 

San holds out both his hands, palms up, eyes wide with an innocent little smile on his face. He’s the perfect picture of a beggar. “Let me look into it?” he pleads, lips pulling into a pout. 

“You’ll look into it?” Hongjoong repeats, quirking a brow at his request. It’s amusing, really. Hongjoong doesn’t doubt that whatever the Horizon is carrying is valuable, but he has a sneaking suspicion that San’s interest is entirely motivated by something else. 

San eagerly nods his head. “I will,” he volunteers enthusiastically. “I’ll make it worth our while. Just leave the plan and everything to me.” 

With a smile, Hongjoong reaches out to tuck San’s hair behind one ear, petting him affectionately. “You know I know you have an ulterior motive, don’t you?” he coos at the blond. 

San matches his smile. “But you still trust me, right?” Hongjoong pretends to think about it, finger tapping against the screen of his computer. The blond sits at the edge of his seat, eyeing Hongjoong’s hand. Finally, he swipes his finger across the screen, and San perks up as he immediately turns on his own, briefly scanning through whatever Hongjoong sent him. 

“Have fun,” the elder teases, ruffling the blond’s hair as he passes by. San doesn’t pay him attention though, already hunched over his screen and frantically searching through the information Hongjoong’s managed to dig up. The elder stifles a yawn as he walks through the doors out of the Bridge. It’s time for a well earned nap. 

  
  
  
  


Yeosang downs the rest of his juice like he’s dying of thirst while Yunho yawns loudly next to him. “Tired?” the doctor asks breathlessly when he’s done, turning to look at his friend. He tugs down the sleeve of his uniform, same as Yunho’s except for the red trimming, and shivers. 

“Didn’t sleep well,” the engineer replies as he rubs at his eyes. 

Yeosang looks down at his friend’s tray, noting the empty cup of coffee. Wordlessly, he takes his own untouched cup and slides it over to the taller man. “Here,” he offers, pushing it closer when Yunho shakes his head and tries to refuse. “Seriously,” he pushes the cup into Yunho’s hands, “I honestly don’t even like coffee that much. You know that.” 

Yunho scrunches his nose at that statement. “You love coffee,” he says. 

“I love lattes,” Yeosang corrects. “That’s completely different. Anyways, you look like you could use it more than me too, so just take it.” 

“Are you sure?” the engineer asks, cradling the cup in his hands. Honestly, now that he has it Yeosang would probably have to fight him to get it back, but the smaller man just smiles at him. It’s invitation enough, and Yunho quickly downs the drink. 

Yeosang glances behind him to the only clock in the mess hall. “Breakfast will be over soon,” he says, standing up from his seat. He picks up his tray, all the food only half eaten, and Yunho’s tray, practically licked clean. Tipping his head all the way back, Yunho hurriedly finishes the last of the coffee before placing it haphazardly on the tray Yeosang is holding for him. 

“Thanks,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“No problem. You have a good shift, okay?” Yeosang starts to walk their trays over to the bin where all the dishes are supposed to be collected, pausing before turning back to the engineer who’s sifting through his scroll to check the agenda for today. “And if you have trouble falling asleep again, come find me,” he calls to the elder. Yunho lifts his head up, smiling as he holds up his hand in an “okay” signal to show that he’s heard. Satisfied, Yeosang finishes walking their trays over, wiping his hands off before he heads for his own station. 

The day is largely uneventful. The engines are working just fine, so Yunho runs his routine maintenance, keeping a detailed and meticulous log of everything for his counterpart on the green cycle shift. The ship is constantly running, crew separated into one of two colored shifts. The tablets are to help each group keep track of the latest updates as well as a general communication device between all members of the ship. Yunho doesn’t exactly have the most glamorous or even exciting job. Maintaining the ship is a fairly easy task, and most of his work usually happens when they’re docked on a planet.

Still a job is a job, and Yunho is happy where he is. 

He’s just finished checking the backup generator when his scroll alerts him to an incoming message. Circling around the generator, he walks across the grated walkway to his workbench where he left his scroll. He half expects a message from Yeosang who is usually bored out of his mind and complaining during his shift. They haven’t had any incidents recently, so his duties are minimal, and he complains about acting as essentially a school nurse. 

“Should have just stayed on my space station if this is what it was going to be like,” he remarked the last time they spoke about it. Yunho smiled like he understood. He’d never lived on a station before. He’d been born and raised on Cadus A13K—a mountainous and rugged planet. They had a Space Cadet Training Academy he had attended as a young adult. Any training he obtained in space was done on a ship. 

Yeosang, on the other hand, was raised on a space station. One of the Empire’s biggest. Yunho still remembers the first time they landed on a planet to stock up and refuel: Yeosang had been absolutely entranced by the planet’s surface. It hadn’t even been an amazing planet. A frontier planet, pioneers were still working on settling it’s surface which was dry and desert-like. The complete opposite of the lush foliage Yunho grew up with. 

However, it’s not Yeosang who messages him, and Yunho frowns, eyebrows knitting together in concern when he sees who messaged him. Seonghwa. The second-in-command on the ship, and the captain during the red cycle. Yunho knows him, has to report to him if any major issues arise, of course, but he doesn’t expect to just hear from Seonghwa out of the blue. Usually he is the one trying to track down the lieutenant captain. 

_I would like a report. Come to the Bridge please._

Yunho frowns at the message. A report? He can do that, sure, but does he have to come to the Bridge just for that? Wiping his hands down on the front of his uniform, he opens a call to the lieutenant captain. Seonghwa answers right away. 

“Lieutenant,” Yunho begins, bracing his hands against his work bench, “I received your message—” 

“Then why are you not on the Bridge?” Seonghwa’s voice filters through the scroll. 

Yunho shrinks away at the strict tone of voice like he’s personally being scolded. “I—” he stutters. Yeah, okay that was Seonghwa’s order, but he just didn’t think it was necessary. “I thought it would be okay to just send you a brief update from here—” 

“I want you to come up here,” Seonghwa tells him. “I need this to be on a closed circuit.” And then he abruptly hangs up on Yunho who stares down at his scroll like he’s never seen it before. 

“But this is a closed circuit communication,” he grumbles, picking up the tablet. Well, orders are orders and clearly Seonghwa wants to communicate in person. Tucking his scroll under his arm, he resolves himself to make the trek up to the Bridge. 

  
  
  
  


“And the shields?” 

“Fully functional,” Yunho paws through his scroll as he searches for the information to answer all of Seonghwa’s questions. Technically, none of this is really unusual. Seonghwa often asks him for the status of the ship, but that’s it. They’re just status updates. This doesn’t feel like one. Seonghwa seems anxious as he bites his bottom lip. “Is our fuel okay?” he asks the lieutenant. 

Seonghwa blinks up at him. “Yes,” he answers after a beat of silence passes. “We have plenty of fuel. Why do you ask?” 

“I just—” Yunho fidgets. “You seem nervous. I thought something might have happened.” 

Seonghwa straightens up his posture. “Ah. It’s nothing like that. We just want to make sure we’re prepared.” 

“For what?” 

Sighing, Seonghwa glances around the Bridge even though there’s no one else here except the two of them. Then he levels Yunho with a grim expression. “You know what our mission is, correct?” 

Yunho swallows thickly. “We’re delivering a commission of weapons and supplies to another base,” he answers slowly. 

“Yes.” Seonghwa nods his head at his answer. “It’s nothing unusual. A very standard mission, no?” Yunho nods his head in agreement to Seonghwa’s statements. Yes, he knows all this. It’s not a job typically given to a military ship like theirs, usually a merchant ship could handle it, but with the ongoing war ramping up between the Empire and the Federation it had been handed over to them. He also knows this isn’t a particularly dangerous mission. “So why have we found a pirate ship tailing us?” Seonghwa questions in a low voice. Yunho stiffens up, immediately nervous. 

_What?_ he wants to ask though the word doesn’t make it out. Why would a pirate ship be after them? Their haul isn’t particularly valuable, and why risk it against a military ship? They must be quite gutsy. 

“Are we in danger?” 

“It’s likely they will attack,” Seonghwa confirms. “I don’t think this is mere coincidence that they're tailing us. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re a good friend, and I need you to be on top of the ship’s needs in the meantime.” 

Yunho nods his head though his body feels numb. “What are you going to do? Do we have backup?” 

“A distress signal has been sent,” Seonghwa affirms, “but we cannot guarantee that they will make it in time.” 

“We’re within the Nemesis Nebula,” Yunho points out. “There’s an inhabited planet here. We could dock—” 

Seonghwa cuts him off with a shake of his head. “The captain will not have it,” he answers. “Our mission must not be delayed.” 

“It will be if we get attacked,” Yunho mutters. Besides it’s just a shipment of weapons. Surely it can wait in light of a potential pirate attack? 

The lieutenant captain tilts his head forward in show of agreement. “We do have an advantage though. We know that they’re nearby, and we can prepare for that. Any element of surprise they may have had is gone.” 

Yes, it’s a fact that’s been bothering Yunho. Why would a pirate ship be tailing them long enough for their presence to be picked up? It seems like the complete opposite rule of piracy. “Do we know who they are?” he asks curiously. Perhaps it is an inexperienced group. Space piracy has been picking up steam recently, so perhaps it is a group of naive wannabe pirates, too inexperienced to know what they’re doing? But would such a group attack a military ship like their own? Seems unlikely. 

The grim expression on Seonghwa’s face also gives little weight to the theory. “It could be a trick, but the logs we traced that gave them away are registering the ship as the Aurora.” 

Yunho’s shoulders tense and his forehead creases. Seonghwa misreads his body language as apprehension, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder. “They have a reputation, but they’re not the most fearsome of groups. We have the means to deal with them.” 

It’s more than just that though. The Aurora and its captain may not be the most feared of space pirates, but their success rate is awe worthy. It doesn’t help that there’s not much more information than that. The Empire doesn’t even know who the captain is. “Yet you seem worried,” Yunho points out as he wipes clammy hands on the pants of his uniform. 

“I’m never one to underestimate an opponent,” Seonghwa admits. “Even more so when I know so little about them. Plus it’s troubling, isn’t it? We know that they’re trailing close by. If it is not just a mere coincidence, why haven’t they attacked before we could find out?”

“Maybe it is a coincidence then,” Yunho croaks out. 

“Perhaps.” Seonghwa scrolls through his tablet. “We’ve been ordered not to engage. Our mission is to take priority. Hopefully, they are the ones here to resupply.” 

  
  
  
  


Yunho returns to work rattled. His legs feel like jelly as he replays Seonghwa’s words in his mind. The Aurora, huh? What are the odds? But they know about them. They noticed them before they could attack. Surely, a group of professional pirates wouldn’t be so stupid as to attack now? Surely San wouldn’t be so careless? It’s a coincidence, he tells himself while scrolling through the rest of his duties he still needs to fulfill. He can’t move from his work bench though. 

It’s a coincidence, he convinces himself through gritted teeth. It takes a long moment, but Yunho eventually gathers himself and gets back to work. Seonghwa asked him to be on top of the maintenance for now, to let him know if anything changes, at least until they lost the Aurora’s signal, so he does. 

Yeosang eventually contacts him as well, asking how his shift is going. Yunho contemplates telling him about the Aurora but thinks better of it. Seonghwa clearly wanted to keep it hushed, probably following the captain’s orders. Besides, it’s probably nothing. They wouldn’t have the gaul to attack a huge military ship like this one surely. They’re probably laying just as low, waiting to see if the ESS Horizon would turn their attention towards them. 

He assures Yeosang that he’s fine. He’s bored. There’s nothing to report and nothing to repair, the same as usual. Yeosang is pleased. Their journey has been a quiet one so far, and Yunho expects it to stay that way. Putting the Aurora to the back of his mind, Yunho continues with his shift. He’s not going to think about it anymore. He’s not going to think about San. 

As he winds down for the end of his shift, ready to eat dinner in the mess hall with Yeosang before retiring to his quarters before the green cycle takes over, his quiet journey comes to an end. The alarm starts blaring through the speakers, warning all crew to head for their posts. Yunho feels his heart sink at the same time the ship rocks a little too violently. He struggles with his footing, nearly crashing to the ground. 

He can hear something faint through the sudden noise of the alarm and his own blood pumping in his ear. Bracing himself against his work bench, he grapples with the sudden situation. They’re being attacked. The Aurora must be attacking them. Who else could it be? His eyes catch onto the headset on his work bench, and the training suddenly kicks in. 

“Sorry!” he says as soon as he has it fitted in his ear. 

“You need to work faster than that!” Seonghwa scolds into his ear. “The Captain isn’t on the Bridge yet. I need you to listen to me for now.” 

Yunho winces, already pulling up a blueprint of the ship on his screen. “Sorry, lieutenant. It won’t happen again.” 

“I need a status of our Klein Barrier.” 

His hands shake as he pulls up the data, eyes rapidly scanning through it. “Minimal damage taken,” he says into his earpiece. “They used corrosive warheads, but there wasn’t enough to cause serious damage to our shields. Is it them?” He stares unseeingly at his screen. “Is it the Aurora?” 

He doesn’t get a response from Seonghwa right away, but he’s sure the lieutenant heard him. A second later, he hears Seonghwa’s voice again. “Can you start up our warp engines?” 

“I can,” Yunho says, rapidly cycling through different screens. “I’d have to divert energy away from maintaining our Klein Barrier though.” He pauses, waiting for orders. 

Seonghwa is quiet himself, seeming to think it over. “We can’t afford to drop the barrier. They’ll attack us immediately.” Yunho rolls his ankle as he braces himself when the ship vibrates again. They seem to be attacking indiscriminately anyways. He winces at the pain in his foot, but bites his tongue through it. He needs to maintain focus right now. “Bring the barrier down to 20%. Divert the rest of the energy to starting up the warp engines.” 

“20%?” Yunho repeats, biting his lip nervously. That would be pushing it, especially considering the onslaught they appear to be under. 

“Our enemy is a light cruiser. They would only be able to launch 5 corrosive warheads at a time. Am I wrong to presume our barrier wouldn’t hold at 20%?” Seonghwa doesn’t sound like he’s scolding Yunho, but genuinely double checking his own logic. 

“It would hold so long as this isn’t prolonged,” Yunho confirms, already working on diverting their energy source to the engines. 

“How long until the warp drives are ready?” 

Yunho looks over his data. “Five minutes?” he estimates. 

Seonghwa sighs but doesn’t change his orders, running his fingers through his hair as he stares at his radar. They could engage, but he doesn’t want a prolonged fight. It would only slow them down, and the Aurora is more maneuverable than they are. The doors to the Bridge open behind him, and he whirls around as the Captain rushes in. 

“Status?” he demands Seonghwa. 

The second-in-command immediately hands over control to him, stepping out of the way. “It’s the Aurora, sir,” he informs him. “I had the engineer divert power to our warp drive.” 

“They’ll just follow us,” the captain says, plucking the headset from Seonghwa’s hands. “I want all hands to battle stations,” he calls out loudly before holding the little microphone to his lips. “Jeong, I want the energy put into the gravity cannon.” 

Yunho jolts at the command, fingers freezing over his work station. “Captain?” he asks, hesitating to follow the order. “We’ll have to drop our barrier altogether then.” 

“I am well aware of how the cannon works, private,” he quips back, and Yunho flinches before immediately doing as he’s told. “We are more than capable of taking a few missile hits.” 

“Dropping the barrier. All energy diverted to the gravity cannon.” Yunho takes a step back from his station at that point, arms limp at his side. This is a gamble. The gravity cannon will completely destroy the Aurora if it hits, but their shields are down. It may only be a light cruiser, but they could take them out in this condition. Yunho’s hands shake as he waits for further orders. They don’t need the gravity cannon if they want to take a fight. It’s overkill. 

_San_. 

He can’t help but think of the younger man. He hopes now more than ever for his pointless fantasy to be real. He’s not a pirate, and he’s certainly not one on the Aurora. He takes a deep breath as his stomach knots together. It’s out of his hands now. 

  
  
  
  


“Oh.” Mingi raises both his eyebrows as he presses his headphones down on his ears. “It looks like San was right.” He turns in his seat to look at Hongjoong. “They lowered their barrier, but I can hear something weird. It’s really loud.” 

“It’s their gravity cannon,” San says on his right. Hongjoong stares at him pointedly. “Probably,” he amends with a little shrug. 

“Are we sure this will work?” Wooyoung asks, fingers nervously tapping against his thigh. 

“Everything is going according to plan so far,” Hongjoong assures him, settling comfortably down in his seat. 

“They’re repositioning,” San calls out from his station. He looks over his shoulder to his captain with a sly grin on his lips. “They're pointing straight at us.” 

The corners of Hongjoong’s mouth curl up into a small smile, pleased with the information. “Just as you predicted,” he notes. 

“Captain Lee is as predictable as ever,” San chimes, kicking his legs back and forth. “He definitely thinks we’re a joke compared to his ship. I knew he’d take the fight with us.” Truthfully he had been a little worried at first. The ESS Horizon hadn’t responded as he initially predicted, taking more defensive measures against them. Now, though, they’re moving exactly as he wants them to. He pops his knuckles in anticipation, smile widening when Mingi sends him a disgusted look. 

“What now?” Wooyoung asks, fingers wrapping around his steering stick. 

“Now we trust your piloting,” Hongjoong says, linking his hands together on his lap. He looks over to San. “Let Jongho know it’s time to break in his new toy.” San mock salutes him as he passes on the message to their youngest crew member. 

“I think it’s almost done charging,” Mingi notes, hands still cupped around his headphones. 

“Here comes their gravity surge,” Wooyoung announces, knuckles white from his grip around the steer. 

“Hold,” Hongjoong says, sitting up in his seat. “Let them think we’re a sitting duck, Woo.” This part is key. Their timing needs to be perfect, but he trusts his crew to pull it off. If they get caught in the gravity surge, it’s over, but if they dodge it too early, the Horizon will simply hold fire. They need to bait this out. 

Wooyoung takes a deep breath, shoulders relaxing as his hand hovers over his controls. Mingi cups the headphones around his ears. There’s no seeing what’s outside from the Bridge of their ship. They have to depend solely on their radar and Mingi. It’s completely silent on the Bridge. This is it. “Now!” the redhead says suddenly, and Wooyoung reacts without thought. 

“Activating engines on the starboard side. Brace for impact! Mingi take off the headphones!” He throws them off his ears as everyone is thrown to the left right before the ship starts to rattle violently. Hongjoong grips the arms of his chair tightly, stomach churning at the force of the impact and it’s not even a head on blast. 

“Jesus,” he gasps when it’s finally over seconds later. 

“Our Klein Barrier took most of that impact, but our starboard side is compromised,” San reports. “Good job avoiding that cannon.” 

“Fuck you,” Wooyoung gasps out, head leaning back against his chair. “I thought we were going to die.” 

Hongjoong leans forward in his seat. “It’s our turn now.” 

  
  
  
  


“We missed?” The Captain asks in shock, staring at the ship in front of them. Seonghwa’s heart pounds against his ribcage. They dodged it. They dodged the gravity surge before the cannon blast. He knows they have more maneuverability, but they had just been _sitting_ there. No, more importantly than that, how did they know to dodge the gravity surge? The timing was perfect. Surely it couldn’t have been mere dumb luck? 

“Prepare the cannon to fire again,” the captain growls out, and Seonghwa snaps out of his thoughts. 

“Is this wise, sir?” he asks. “It will take some time before the gravity cannon will be able to fire again.” 

“They won’t be able to dodge it a second time,” he answers confidently. “And we still hit their Klein Barrier. They’ve got nothing left except for some missiles. They have no choice but to run or die.” 

He supposes that is true. Turning back to glance at the Aurora, he freezes when he sees the hull of the ship opening. “Sir,” he calls out as the captain continues to bark out orders. The captain doesn’t respond to him, demanding to know how much longer until the gravity cannon is ready to fire again. “Sir,” he calls again when he sees the cannon emerging from the ship’s hull. 

“What?” The captain asks, whirling around to his second-in-command. 

Wordlessly, Seonghwa points, drawing the captain’s attention to the Aurora. He watches as the man’s face pales when he grasps the situation in front of them. “They’ll be ready to fire long before we are,” Seonghwa says. The panic suddenly sets into him. “And our engines are out. _We’re_ the sitting ducks. We need to move!” The captain stares at the sight in front of him, slack jawed. “Captain!” Seonghwa demands. 

Finally, he lifts his little ear piece to his mouth. “Jeong, put the power back into the engines. As fast as you can.” 

Yunho jolts when the order comes through to him. He felt it when the ship rocked from the force of the gravity cannon firing, but he hadn’t heard anything from the captain still. Nothing about restarting the engine. Did they hit the Aurora? Did something happen? And then the captain tells him to restart the engines, but he sounds panicked. He practically dives for the computer, quickly diverting the ship’s energy back into the engines. 

“Done,” he says back to the captain. He doesn’t receive a response though. He doesn’t hear from the captain through his headset at all. The next time he hears his captain it’s through the intercom system instead. 

“Brace for impact!” 

Yunho can honestly say he stands frozen for a good five seconds before he reaches to grab the railing by his work station, and barely a moment too soon because as soon as his fingers wrap around it, the ship starts shaking fiercely. Fierce enough that Yunho only manages to hold on for a short while before he loses his balance and his grip. He releases a cry of pain when his head smacks against the railing, and he falls onto the grated floor with a groan. 

The rocking of the ship continues for what feels like another eternity, and Yunho wonders if this is the end. Something must have hit them. Something massive. His head is still spinning from the impact, but as far as he can tell he’s still alive. 

Faintly he hears a voice calling for him when the shaking stops. Blinking slowly, Yunho rolls onto his side, groaning when it feels like his head is splitting open. His vision becomes spotting as he grapples with the grated floor. His fingers brush against something smooth, and when his vision finally focuses he spies the earpiece. The sound filters through that. 

Yunho reaches for it with a wince. “Status update, Jeong!” He reaches up to his forehead, pressing the heel of his palm against his temple. He holds the earpiece up to hear more clearly. “Jeong, status update!” 

He holds the microphone to his mouth. “I—” What was he going to say? He glances up to his work bench. With a shuddering breath, Yunho crawls over to it, slowly lifting himself up. “Um,” he struggles to process the information in front of him. “It’s...the engines.” He squints at his screen. His eyes hurt. His head hurts. Everything hurts, and it’s hard to think. “The engines are out. They’ve been severely damaged.” 

He drops the communication device onto his work bench, fingers prodding at his head. He doesn’t feel blood. That’s good. He’ll need to see Yeosang after this. If there is an after this. “Captain, what’s happening?” he whimpers. 

“They hit the engines,” the captain growls, cocking his arms back like he intends to throw the earpiece. He doesn’t though. Seonghwa’s teeth dig into his bottom lip. Why? Why the hell would they aim for their engine? They had an easy shot. He gasps when the ship gives another sudden jerk. Just one before it settles back. “Now what?” he growls. 

“They tethered us,” a crew member on the Bridge reports, looking to the captain for guidance. 

“What?” the man asks. 

“They...they tethered us,” the man repeats. 

Seonghwa turns to his superior. “They’re going to board?” He scans the other faces on the Bridge. Nobody says anything. He turns back to the captain. That’s why they aimed for the engines. All they wanted was to incapacitate them. “What do we do?” 

“Ah!” Yunho covers his ears when another alarm starts blaring through the ship. It only adds to his pounding headache, and he curls himself up on the floor, rocking himself back and forth as he tries to nurse his head. Another message comes over the intercom. 

“Prepare to be boarded!” 

Yunho lifts his head up at that. What? 

“All crew prepare for battle!” 

He forces himself to his feet at that, hand reaching down to feel for his gun. His knees shake and his head still throbs, but he’s starting to get his bearings at least. Battle, he reminds himself as the alarm threatens to deafen him. They must prepare for battle. For the very thing he was trained for. Sort of. He stares at his work bench for a long moment before snatching his scroll. There’s nothing left he can do here for now. The engines are gone. 

  
  
  
  


He finds Yeosang easily enough. He’s in his small medical bay, looking scared as he rushes back and forth between his supplies and some of the soldiers who have already made their way here. He doesn’t look any less worse for wear though much to Yunho’s relief. “I need an ice pack or something,” he says when Yeosang rushes at him. 

“What’s happening?” the doctor asks as he presses a pack of ice against Yunho’s forehead. The engineer hisses, reaching up to hold the bag for himself. “We’re being boarded?” 

“I don’t know,” Yunho answers, cringing at the added pain of the ice. It does little to relieve his headache, but he knows that he probably needs it. “I haven’t seen anyone yet, but you heard the captain.” 

Yeosang looks around at the patients in his bay. Everyone seems to have some kind of blunt force trauma or sprained joints. “What happened?” he asks. “Were we hit? Are we okay?” 

“Pirates,” Yunho says, cupping his head with one hand and pressing down on the ice pack with the other. Yeosang presses his hands into his stomach like he’s trying to keep it settled. “We used the gravity cannon. I don’t know. I figured we must have blown them up, but something just as strong hit us. Took out the engines.” 

“Our engines are down?” Yeosang gasps. 

Yunho nods his head with a grim expression. “We’re free floating right now. The damage is extensive. I couldn’t get to it if I wanted to. It’s airlocked for now.” He looks around the little medical bay. It’ll only be a short time before even more people show up. Plus, there’s the threat of the pirates boarding. “What about here?” 

Sighing, Yeosang fists the material of his pants. “Lot of injuries consistent with a crash. I’m running out of bandages and painkillers though. I need to get to the supply room.” 

Yunho watches as a woman in the same uniform as Yeosang bounces between patients. Yeosang should stay here. It’s his post, but Yunho doesn’t know what he needs. “Tell her,” he nods his head towards the doctor’s colleague. “I’ll get you to the supply room safely.” 

Yeosang looks concerned. “Are you sure? You might have a concussion.” His fingers run gently over Yunho’s head until they brush against the side of his head which he hit. Yunho hisses at the touch, jerking away from Yeosang and presses the ice pack onto the injury. 

“I’m okay for now,” he insists even as he cradles an ice pack to his head. “And anyways, I think I’m in desperate need of some painkillers.” 

Pressing his lips together, Yeosang mulls over the option for a moment before giving a curt nod. “Okay. One second.” 

  
  
  
  


Honestly, Yunho can’t even tell that they’ve been boarded. Other than the dimmed power on the ship, it’s hard to tell that they’ve even come under attack. There haven’t been any signs of fighting so far which is probably good because Yeosang’s fingers are trembling around his blaster, and Yunho is hardly in the condition to be fighting. He supposes this isn’t necessarily shocking either. If he were boarding a ship, he’d probably go straight for the Bridge. Subdue the captain and the ship and everything else is easy to obtain. 

Briefly, he hopes that Seonghwa and the captain are fine.

Perhaps he spoke too soon. When they round the corner, they come face to face with one of the pirates. Yunho can tell because he’s not wearing any kind of uniform. More to the point, he’s fiddling with his gun like it’s a toy, whistling a little tune to himself. It’s not San either, and Yunho can’t tell if he’s relieved or horrified by that thought. 

The whistling comes to an abrupt stop, though, when the pirate sets his gaze on them, lips pulling up into a smile as he eyes the gun in Yunho’s hand. “Nice gun you got there,” he compliments. He doesn’t move to aim his own at Yunho, still twisting it around in his fingers. Yeosang ducks behind the engineer, fingers reaching for his own blaster as well. 

“Don’t move, or I’ll shoot,” Yunho warns him. 

The smile on the pirate’s face drops, and he holsters his own gun. “Will you now?” he challenges, crossing his arms over his chest. His frame is lithe and nimble. Yunho probably has him beat in a physical fight, but the way he holds himself with confidence sets the soldier on edge. Right now he has the upper hand, but the pirate certainly isn’t acting like it. “Alright then.” He leans forward, closer to Yunho though he doesn’t move from his spot. “Do it. Shoot me.” 

Yunho stares at him. “What?” he asks. Is the pirate really asking him to just shoot?

“You said you would do it,” he holds his arms out as if to make himself a more inviting target. 

Yunho hesitates, finger twitching over the trigger. He doesn’t fire though. “Why are you on our ship?” he asks instead. He’d really wanted to ask about San. Was the blond really a member of their crew? And, if so, where was he? But that wouldn’t be wise for a number of reasons. 

The pirate shrugs his shoulders, an exaggerated frown on his face. “Dunno. To plunder, pillage, or otherwise steal your shit? Also, because my captain told me to.” He juts his chin towards Yunho. “What you got hiding behind you?” 

“Nothing,” Yunho straightens himself up, doing what he can to hide Yeosang. He might be a military trained doctor, but that didn’t mean he was ready or meant to face real combat. Yunho knew him better than that. He only carried the gun around because he had to. 

“Sounds like something worth stealing then,” the pirate jokes. 

Yeosang pokes his head out from behind Yunho. “I’m not something you can steal.” 

“Oh, that’s what you think, sweetheart,” he teases the doctor. 

Expression souring, Yeosang nudges Yunho on the back. “Yunho, shoot him,” he tells the engineer. 

The pirate’s expression twists into a sour one. His eyes sliding back over to Yunho who he stares at critically. The engineer shifts uncomfortably under his gaze. “Yeah,” the pirate goads him, the sour expression giving way to a smug smile. “Shoot me, _Yunho_ , but just know that I won’t hold back as soon as you attack me.” He cracks his knuckles, and Yunho resists the urge to wince at the noise. San used to crack his fingers all the time, laughing when Yunho would cover his ears and beg him to stop. He hated the noise. 

Yunho lifts his free hand up to cradle his head, the pain from earlier rearing its ugly head again. He doesn’t know if he’s really in the condition to be fighting right now. His arms are shaking, and, frankly, this pirate can probably easily close the small distance between the two of them. He seems confident enough, or maybe he’s just bluffing, but if the other crew members of the Aurora are anything like San, Yunho admits that he would be taking a gamble. 

“Tell you what,” the pirate interrupts his train of thoughts, “how about this? You don’t shoot me, I don’t attack you, and you can go about...whatever duties it is you’re trying to go about.” 

“And you expect us to believe you?” Yeosang asks. “Why would we ever do that?” 

“Because,” the pirate motions to him, “you have a very pretty face, and it’s just given me a change of heart. I also see no profit or fun in beating the two of you up. Besides, your friend here seems to have hurt his head. Do you really want to be picking a fight with a pirate in your condition? I would take my generous offer if I were you.” 

Yeosang glares at him, fingers digging into Yunho’s uniform. Nobody moves. The soldiers regard him suspiciously, and the pirate keeps still as per the agreement. “Truly,” he finally sighs when Yunho and Yeosang stay rooted in their spot. He links his hands behind his back and presses himself up against the wall. “There? Are you happy? Now please be on your way so that I can be on mine.” 

Cautiously, the two of them inch forward, Yunho keeping his aim on the pirate while Yeosang guides them past in a hurry. “You won’t make it off this ship” the doctor warns him as they pass by. The pirate only grins at him, daring him to prove it. 

The two of them disappear quickly afterwards, and he rearms himself as he hears the sound of footsteps approaching. He waits by the corner until two more soldiers come barreling through. He blind sides them, taking them out before they can even react to his presence. With a sigh he takes out his own little scroll to open a line of communication. 

“I found lover boy,” he says into the device. “He’s heading down into the ship.” Then he hangs up without waiting for a response. “What a lucky bastard, that Jeong Yunho,” he mutters to himself before carrying on. He has some things to do. 

  
  
  
  


The rest of the way to the medical supplies are, mercifully, pirate-free. It’s also quite people-free. Yunho can’t say he’s surprised, but he is a bit nervous. He still has a gun drawn, aimed at an angle towards the floor but still ready to hold up should he need it. A part of him still expects someone to get the jump on them. A part of him still expects San to show up at some point. 

“Just down this hallway,” Yeosang guides, sticking close to Yunho’s side. His head keeps turning back and forth, keeping a look-out for anyone else. There is no one. 

“Here,” Yeosang points, breaking away from Yunho’s side to rush for the supply room. The elder gives the surroundings one last scan before he hooks his gun back on his belt, and he sags a little in relief. He’s still a little shaken from the encounter with the pirate earlier. It was just the one, but his nerves feel frayed, and, if not for the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins at this very moment he sure he would collapse to the ground by now. 

Following Yeosang more cautiously, he turns his head over his shoulder to check one more time. There’s no one there, and the pounding in his head is really starting to become distracting. He could definitely use some pain killers right now. He pauses for a second to hold onto his head, trying to will away the headache by squeezing his eyes shut. He faintly hears the sound of Yeosang opening the door.

“Found you,” a teasing voice lilts right behind him. 

Yeosang freezes, turning to the direction of the voice, but Yunho reacts instinctually. Raising his elbow, he whirls to face the intruder, intending to dig his elbow into something. Anything. The person ducks it though, and, before Yunho can even reach for his gun, the barrel of a blaster is shoved in his face. Perhaps unsurprisingly, San is at the other end of it. Yeosang releases a little gasp of surprise from behind him, but Yunho can’t turn around to look, attention split between the gun in his face and San’s little grin. 

The pirate tilts his head to look around Yunho, smile fading when he spots Yeosang standing behind him. His posture stays relaxed though. He knows the uniforms. A doctor doesn’t scare him. “Who are you?” he asks, staring at the doctor. 

Yeosang looks between Yunho and the pirate, swallowing thickly. What does he do in a situation like this? “I’m—” he stutters. 

“He’s a non-combatant,” Yunho answers for him, raising his hands up in surrender. “Leave him alone.” 

The pirate gives him a once over before looking back to Yunho. “Blaster on his belt says otherwise,” he addresses the engineer, leaning in close when he murmurs the words. Then he pulls away to stare at Yeosang. “Get in there,” he nods towards the supply room they’d been heading for. The doctor glances at the door of the room which had slid shut again before looking back at them. Frowning, San presses the barrel of his gun to Yunho’s forehead. “Get in there,” he repeats, “and don’t come out. If you don’t listen to me, I’ll shoot. If I see you, I’ll shoot.” 

Yeosang hesitates, looking at Yunho’s back. He doesn’t want to just abandon his friend, but what can he do in this situation? “Listen to him,” Yunho says, still glaring at San who smiles, pleased by his cooperation. “Go in and don’t come out until the alarm has been lifted.” 

“But—” 

“I’ll be okay,” Yunho assures him. He doesn’t _think_ San will shoot him even if Yeosang doesn’t obey. He’s fairly certain he won’t, but he doesn’t think Yeosang will be safe. Better to keep him away from the pirate. He doesn’t tell Yeosang that, though. He doesn’t need the doctor to do anything stupid. More importantly, he’s really just assuming at this point. He might think San is unlikely to shoot him, but that doesn’t mean the pirate won’t. He clearly never knew what he was really like. 

Clenching his jaw, Yeosang reaches for the door. “Don’t hurt him,” he begs the pirate. 

San presses his lips into a thin line. “You’re really testing my patience here,” he warns. That seems to do the trick as the doctor ducks into the supply room, door sliding shut behind him. San takes a deep breath, drawing away from Yunho though he keeps the gun leveled at him. “Finally,” he scoffs. 

Yunho doesn’t move, hands still held up in surrender. He would have expected a whole host of emotions right now, anger and betrayal being at the forefront, but he just feels frozen and numb. Perhaps because there is a gun shoved in his face, and he is at risk of dying at any moment. “Now what?” he asks. 

San’s expression softens even though he still has a gun aimed at Yunho’s head. “Take me to your quarters,” he demands. 

  
  
  


Yunho leads San to his quarters because the blond pirate is holding a gun to his head and this is where he wants to go apparently. As soon as the door slides shut behind them, he feels San reach for something from his utility belt. Before he can even ask, San grabs both of his arms by the wrists, bringing them together behind his back and cuffing him. “Are you serious?” Yunho complains before he bites his tongue. 

The younger man turns him around, grinning at him, before he walks him backwards to his little cot. “Sorry,” he apologizes though he doesn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. “I’d rather this than continue to point a gun at you.” He eyes Yunho from head to toe, head cocked to the side thoughtfully. “I kind of like how you look like this,” he murmurs, but Yunho hears him and his cheeks flush in embarrassment. He pushes Yunho down to sit on his bed though the engineer threatens to teeter backwards. Rolling his shoulders back, he strains to balance himself on the pads of his fingers, pushing up to keep himself sitting upright. 

He rights himself in time to see San opening the drawer of his night stand, peering into it curiously. Yunho’s heart drops to his stomach, but the blond doesn’t rifle through his belongings, sliding it back shut with his hip. He doesn’t find the letter. “What do you want?” he asks the younger as he looks around Yunho’s room. 

San turns back to him with a little smile. “What do you mean?” He reaches out to press his fingers to Yunho’s collarbone. The elder tenses under the touch, turning his head away when those fingers trace downwards to his hip. He finds Yunho’s little scroll on his utility belt, pulling it away and examining it curiously. 

“Why are you here?” Yunho amends, watching as San turns the device around like he’s never seen one. He has, of course, so Yunho doesn’t know why he’s acting like this. 

Still fiddling with the device, San turns so his back is to the elder. “I came to see you, of course.” He turns back around, setting the scroll down on Yunho’s night stand. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” 

Yunho’s emotions seem to take an eternity to get to him because he thinks he should feel a lot of things. Right now, all he really feels is suspicion. “Don’t lie,” he retorts, shifting on the edge of his bed. 

The smile on San’s face drops, and Yunho is momentarily terrified that the blond will do something to him when he strides over to the engineer. He crawls onto the elder’s lap, knees settling on either side of Yunho’s hips, and he cups his face with both hands, forcing him to look at San. “I’m not lying,” he whispers, leaning in so close that their lips brush against each other as he speaks. Yunho tries to tilt his head back to create some space between them, but San doesn’t let him, holding him still. “I missed you,” he says, thumb stroking over Yunho’s cheek. 

Yunho licks his lips, parting them to say something, but he can’t get any words out because San leans down to kiss him. Yunho freezes, fingers digging into his bedsheets. The blond presses down on him, sucking on his bottom lip. He pulls back just enough to allow Yunho to suck in a breath. “I love you, puppy,” he whispers affectionately, and Yunho breaks. 

San kisses him again, and Yunho melts into the touch. His eyes slide shut and his lips move against San’s. He pushes his full weight against the engineer, and, unable to keep his balance with his wrists cuffed together, he falls onto his back, hissing when the throbbing pain in his head returns. San pulls back at that, looming over Yunho with a concerned expression. 

“What?” he asks, eyes scanning Yunho for any injuries. “What’s wrong?” 

“My head,” Yunho groans, trying to roll over to relieve pressure. Immediately, San’s hands are there, fingers prodding until they brush against the bump on his head, and Yunho whimpers in pain.

San coos sympathetically, fingers gently stroking over the little bump. “From the impact?” he guesses. 

“Yeah.” Yunho turns his head to the side to relieve pressure. It feels better, but there’s still a dull ache beating against the base of his skull. 

“I’m sorry,” San apologizes, fingers combing through his hair. It’s soothing. Yunho almost closes his eyes, losing himself in the sensation, but then he remembers. The impact. San and his crew _attacked them_. Finally, his anger bubbles to the surface. 

“You fired on us,” he growls angrily, trying to sit up but it’s impossible between his cuffed wrists and the pirate settled comfortably on top of him.

San frowns at the accusation, fingers continuing to play with Yunho’s locks. “You shot the cannon at us first,” he points out. 

“You’re pirates!” Yunho exclaims like that’s a reason, and then everything else seems to finally catch up with him. “Why?” he asks. “Why did you turn pirate?” 

The blond frowns, finally pulling back from Yunho to look down at him. “I sent you a letter,” he says. “Didn’t you get it?” 

“It didn’t explain anything,” Yunho spits out, trying to shrug the blond off when he tucks Yunho’s hair behind his hair. 

San frowns at him, expression confused. “Why are you so mad?” he asks. 

Yunho scoffs at the question. “Why am I mad?” he repeats, shifting around to relieve the pressure on his arms. “You fucking deserted your post to go gallivanting around as a pirate!” 

San leans in close, so close their noses almost touch. With a gentle hand, he guides Yunho onto his back, mindful of the bump on his head. “So?” he asks, hand moving down Yunho’s neck to his collarbone which he strokes gently. “You never even wanted to be a part of the military. Are you really that mad that I became a pirate?” 

Yunho bites his tongue, annoyed by San. It’s not about the morality of it, he wants to say. It’s the fact that he didn’t _tell_ Yunho. That he just went off and left, leaving Yunho behind. Again. There weren’t many opportunities for the people of their planet, primarily a source of lumber and precious minerals mined from the mountains for the Empire. Many residents joined the academy in search of a better life, a more stable income, and better opportunities. It’s half the reason Yunho joined.

San was different though. San wanted to join. He wanted to sail among the stars, to see new planets. He was the other half of Yunho’s reasoning. San always had aspirations to make it to space. Yunho knew that, so he hadn’t at all been surprised when the younger announced his plans to enter into the Academy. At the time, Yunho thought that he could make it work. He would enter alongside San to better his own opportunities and to keep the younger man close. He’d thought, naively, that they would end up crew mates on the same ship. Of course he thought that. They were inseparable. 

But the fantasy had been short sighted and naive. There was a difference between himself and San. Yunho was fit but not athletic. He was smart but not ambitious. He graduated nothing more than an average soldier. Nothing like San who enjoyed showing off, who put his all into every test and every training session. He graduated in the top of the class and was subsequently scouted by Cerberus—an elite arm of the Empire’s military. Yunho hardly saw him after that, assigned to the ESS Horizon as an engineer. 

It sucked at first. The hopes he’d built up for himself crumbled down in an instant, but Yunho couldn’t have been prouder for San’s accomplishments. Then the martial officers came. They took Yunho into custody and broke the news to him. The news San had simply wrote down in a silly letter with no explanation and only the selfish plea to forgive him. 

“You _left_ me,” Yunho accuses, struggling with his bindings even as his hands go numb beneath his body weight. “You didn’t say a word, asshole.” 

“I sent you that letter,” San insists defensively. “And it’s not as if we were on the same ship to begin with.” 

Yunho’s anger flares, and he bucks his hips up in an attempt to throw San off of him. It doesn’t throw San off, but it does throw him off balance. He falls forward, throwing his hands out to brace himself on Yunho’s shoulders. “Get off,” the elder demands, bucking his hips again. San is pretty much impossible to dislodge from this position, but Yunho keeps trying anyways. 

“Truthfully,” San pants as he works to keep himself in place in spite of all of Yunho’s squirming, “I had hoped I wouldn’t see you here. I’d hoped you would have considered retiring like I suggested.” 

“Why the hell would I?” Yunho demands, lifting his head up as much as he can given his current predicament. “After all, I’ve got to fend for myself now. Money’s better in the military.” His struggle to dislodge San continues until he all but collapses on the bed, unable to do more than shift the blond around. “I hate you,” he pants out when he loses his energy, and his head starts throbbing again in pain. 

“That’s funny,” San remarks with his lips curled up into a smile, “I love you.” 

Yunho doesn’t respond for a moment, at a loss for words. Of all the things San could have said to him, he hadn’t expected that one. “What?” he blubbers. 

“I love you,” San repeats, trailing little kisses along Yunho’s jawline. For a second, Yunho feels his anger and frustration begin to fade. His chin tips up and he turns his head to the side even though it applies an uncomfortable pressure to his head injury—silently asking the blond for more—but just as those emotions slip through his fingers, he closes a fist around them unwilling to let them go just yet. 

“No,” he protests more to himself, wiggling underneath San. To the blond he growls, “You don’t get to say that, you liar.” 

“Liar?” San repeats, bewildered by the accusation. “When have I ever lied to you?” 

If Yunho could pull himself up into a sitting position, he would. Unfortunately the best he can muster is to simply lift his head up off the mattress a little. “Just now,” he spits at the blond. “You love me? What a joke.” 

“Yunho—” 

“A letter!” the elder explodes at him. “One letter. That’s all I got from you. Just a single fucking letter to tell me that you were alive and that you left to become a goddamn pirate, and you didn't even tell me _why_. I didn't even hear it from you! I had to learn from some fucking military police that you were gone, a known pirate aboard the Aurora. And that wasn't even the worst part." He's practically seething, and San has no doubt that if not for the restraints, he might be under serious threat from the engineer right now. "You were missing, for almost two months, and I had no idea. I thought you were just working. Then you turn up on a _pirate ship_? I left our planet for you, and now you want me to just go back? You call that love?" 

San is silent after his little tirade, fingers smoothing out the lines of Yunho’s uniform. He hates it, he thinks to himself. The look of Yunho in a uniform—in _this_ uniform. He misses the days where Yunho would pad around the cabin in his casual clothing. He misses those days, period. “It was the only way I could talk to you,” he finally answers, swallowing the lump in his throat. He knew, realistically, that Yunho would be angry with him. Of course he’d be angry. Why wouldn’t he be? Though admittedly San thought he had been prepared to face that rage.

Clearly not. 

“Explain,” Yunho demands. 

San lifts his gaze up to the elder as his hand moves up to trace along Yunho’s collarbone. “I had no way of contacting you initially. I threw everything away so I wouldn't be traced. But when I was ready I needed something that would go underneath the radar,” he says, snaking his hand underneath Yunho’s uniform and pressing his palm against the warm skin. “I didn’t want them to think you knew anything or had anything to do with what I did. If you didn’t know what was going on, the higher ups would leave you alone.” 

“They still brought me in for questioning,” Yunho scoffs, shuddering at the feel of San’s palm pressed against him. 

San’s fingers curl up against his chest at the news, and he looks alarmed. “Did they hurt you?” he asks. 

Yunho blinks at the question. “What—no. No, they just pressed me about it, but I didn’t know anything. I guess they figured I wasn’t lying because they let me go pretty quickly. I got your letter after that.” 

The blond sags in relief, leaning down to press his face into the crook of Yunho’s neck. “Good,” he breathes against the skin there, smiling when the elder shivers. “I wanted something untraceable, and that they wouldn’t look for. I wanted to send more, Yunho. You have to believe that. I did, but I worried that someone would find out if I didn’t deliver it myself.” 

Yunho furrows his eyebrows together, his mind seeming to work overtime to process San’s confession. Part of him is partly pleased that San wanted to send him more letters. It alleviated probably the worst of his fears which was the idea that this was San’s way of just leaving him. However, another gripe almost immediately rises in its place. “You delivered the first letter?” he demands, not entirely surprised. It had been unmarked with only his name to indicate the intended recipient. 

“Yeah,” San confirms. 

The anger bubbles back to the surface. “You were there!” he accuses. “You were right there, and you didn’t say anything? You just passed along a letter?!” 

San bites his lip. The guilty expression on his face is answer enough. “I couldn’t,” he says. “If I saw you, I wouldn’t have gone with my captain.” 

“Would that have been such a bad thing?” Yunho asks. 

Moving his hand further up, the blond cups his face. “No,” he answers truthfully. “It wouldn’t have been a bad thing at all, but I needed to do this, Yunho. That’s why I couldn’t see you at that time.” 

“You’re so fucking selfish,” Yunho tells him in a low voice. 

San grins at him, lowering his weight down onto Yunho’s body. “I know,” he acknowledges in an equally as soft voice. “Will you forgive me?” 

“Take the cuffs off me first, and I’ll think about it,” Yunho barters. 

If anything, San’s smile only grows. Pushing himself up to his knees, he helps Yunho roll over onto his side. “Just promise not to try and deck me first thing?” He requests, reaching down to undo the cuffs before Yunho even answers. 

As soon as he’s free Yunho pushes himself into a sitting position, forcing San back onto his lap. Wordlessly he reaches out to thread his fingers into San’s hair, twisting his fingers into the strands harshly. The blond winces at the treatment, head tilting backwards to try and alleviate some of the pain. They stay like that for a moment, San arching his back towards Yunho. The blond entertains the thought that Yunho might really hit him or hurt him in some way out of anger, and he doesn’t think he could blame the elder at all. 

But then Yunho yanks him down, pressing their lips together in a desperate, bruising kiss. San melts into the touch, his arms coming up to wrap around Yunho’s neck. When the elder relaxes his hold on his hair, he presses himself closer. He runs his tongue along Yunho’s lower lip before nibbling on it. He pulls away with a little gasp. “I can’t stay much longer,” he says breathily. 

“You’re going to leave me again?” Yunho asks, upset and trying to guilt trip the younger into staying. 

“No,” San tells him, lifting his fingers to his mouth. He bites down on them, smiling at the pout on Yunho’s face. He leans forward, capturing Yunho’s lips into another kiss, immediately slipping his tongue between his lips. Yunho eagerly reciprocates though his brows knit together when he tastes something bitter and solid on his tongue. The blond pulls away from him, covering Yunho’s mouth with the palm of his hand. 

With San’s mouth gone, Yunho realizes that he does have something in his mouth, but he can’t push it out past San’s palm. He turns his panicked gaze up to the blond who hushes him softly. “It’s nothing. Just something to help you sleep.” 

Unable to do much else, Yunho swallows the small pill in his mouth. San pulls his hand away, satisfied that Yunho’s swallowed it. “Why?” he asks, clearing his throat roughly. The pill may have been small, but Yunho still swallowed it dry while lying on his back. It hadn’t exactly gone down smoothly.

San places a sweet little kiss on the tip of his nose and answers, “Because you’ll try to stop me otherwise.” He traces Yunho’s full lips with his fingers. “But I’ll stay with you until it kicks in, okay? I promise.” 

“You said you wouldn’t leave me again,” Yunho reminds him, eyes already drooping as the effect of the drg kicks in. He feels sluggish and tired, eager to snuggle into his pillow for a good night’s sleep. 

“I won’t,” San says. “I’m not. Maybe there will still be distance between us, but I won’t leave you alone again. Not like last time. I can promise you that.” 

Yunho doesn’t know what he means by that, and he can’t be bothered to figure it out through his sleep-addled brain. True to his word, San stays with him, continuing to litter kisses along his jawline and neck until Yunho can no longer resist, eyes sliding shut as sleep overtakes him. 

When he wakes up, San is gone, the alarm is no longer sounding, and an orb sitting perfectly still and centered on his nightstand. He lifts his head up from the pillow, squinting at the object on his nightstand. That definitely hadn’t been there earlier. His limbs still feel like lead weights are weighing them down, and his head is foggy. Still, he struggles to pull himself to the end of the bed, pushing himself up to get a look at the object on his nightstand. 

He nearly falls out of the cot in his attempt to get a good look at it. Finally, he just slides out of bed, steadying himself on the nightstand as he stares down at the object in shock. It’s lying on top of a little slip of paper, San’s familiar handwriting scrawled across it. 

_Recognize this? It’s for you. Just like I promised._

Tentatively he reaches out to take hold of the object, staring in awe. It’s a Galaxy Drop. Galaxy Drops are said to be a small part of a Galaxy—a little piece of home, so to speak. They weren’t just handmade either, but were rather formed. By what, Yunho has no idea. They’re a rare and beautiful piece of artwork. Yunho didn’t even know if he believed they existed until now. They had heard about them in school, but Yunho had personally written them off as a myth. San, on the other hand, seemed fascinated by them. 

“I bet they’re beautiful,” San told him at the time. “I would kill to get my hands on one.” 

“What would you even do with it?” Yunho questioned. “I mean, assuming you could ever get one. I don’t even think they’re real? Or if they are they’re definitely just man made. How can something like that just form?” 

“They’re definitely real,” the younger man insisted, pouting when Yunho, again, expressed doubts of their existence. 

“Even if they’re real, they’re just a piece of art at best,” Yunho pointed out.

“So?” San questioned as he settled down next to Yunho on the grass. The older boy stared resolutely down at his textbook, nudging San with his shoulder when he rests his head there. “Can’t you appreciate a good piece of art?” San asked. 

Yunho shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, sure. I’m just saying it seems like a lot of hassle to try and find something like that _just_ to appreciate a good piece of art. Is that what you’d do? Just put it on your nightstand to admire it?” He tilted his chin down to look at San, and his lips pulled up into a teasing smile. “That’d be such a waste. It would just fall behind it, and you’d totally forget about it.” 

San pushed himself off of Yunho’s shoulder to shove him playfully before curling himself against Yunho’s side. “You’re right,” he sighed, tilting his head up to look up at the sky. “I would just lose it like an idiot.” 

“I told you,” Yunho murmured, gaze returning to his textbook. 

“That’s why I’d do something better with it.” 

Yunho turned his head to look at him, eyebrows raised in curiosity. “What?” 

San pushed himself up, practically draping himself over Yunho. The older boy grunted, textbook falling to the ground. “I’d give it to the person I love,” he said earnestly, smiling down at Yunho who stared back at him. “As a token. Proof of how much I love him. That I would brave so many obstacles and track down something as rare and pretty as a Galaxy Drop, surely, there’s nothing more romantic than that?” 

Yunho leaned back to stare at him for a moment, and San held his gaze, expression eager. Finally, the elder shook his head, pushing San away from him. “You are such a sap,” he sighed. 

“Isn’t that why you love me?” San complained, draping himself over Yunho’s lap and clinging to his legs. “It’s my charm.” 

“So what? Are you saying you’ll find me a Galaxy Drop one day?” 

San scrambled up in his lap, eyes shining with delight. “Absolutely,” he answered without hesitation. “In fact, I promise I will. Just wait, I’ll get you your very own Galaxy Drop.” 

Yunho’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly turned his head away, snorting at San. “If you say so,” he murmured, clearly not believing it would ever happen. “And what would you want in return?” 

“Only the simplest favor in return,” he promised, reaching out to take hold of Yunho’s hand. He pressed the palm of the older boy’s hand to his cheek, nuzzling into the touch. “Love me. Forever and always. No matter what.” 

“That hardly seems like a fair trade,” Yunho joked, thumb stroking across San’s cheek bone. “You don’t need a Galaxy Drop to get that from me, you know.” 

“It’s more than fair,” the younger boy insisted, grinning up at Yunho. “And maybe some day I will. We might not always be together like this. I want to give you something so you’ll always remember how much I love you.” 

Those had been the words he spoke at that time. 

He stares down at the clear orb in his palm, half convinced that he must be dreaming. Galaxy Drops really did exist? Was this really one of them. Then his breath hitches when he recognizes the little galaxy that seems to be captured within. It’s a beautiful swirl of warm colors, dotted with little stars of each solar system within the galaxy. 

The Aristaeus Galaxy. Their home galaxy. 

“Fucking idiot,” he mutters to himself, cradling the orb to him closely. He really did keep his promise, didn’t he?


	2. Interlude

“So do we have our mole?” Wooyoung asks as soon as San makes it back to the ship. The blond pauses at the question, staring at Wooyoung who looks at him expectantly. He had been the last to make it back to the Aurora—Jongho and Wooyoung already lounging around comfortably while they waited for him to return. 

“Probably,” he answers vaguely, grinning when Wooyoung groans in annoyance. 

“Did you have fun?” Jongho calls out from his own seat. He cranes his head to look over the back of the chair, smirking when he catches sight of San in his periphery. Sighing, he runs his fingers through his hair, trying to tame the blond locks into something more presentable. “I guess you did by the looks of it. You look like you got your brains fucked out.” 

Wooyoung narrows his eyes at the blond, looking him over suspiciously while circling around him like a predator eyeing his prey. San crosses his arms over his chest like he’s trying to hide. “You didn’t actually fuck him, did you? I swear to God if you were running around having sex with—” 

“I wasn’t!” San denies. The tips of his ears turn red from embarrassment. “I didn’t have time to do that anyways.” 

“So what? You just rubbed one out?” Wooyoung asks. 

“Fuck—no!” San shoves the other man away from him. “Jesus. I was trying to set up a connection there. I need him to trust me if this is going to work.” 

Wooyoung raises one eyebrow at him. “I thought you already had a connection?” 

San presses his lips into a thin line, annoyed because he’s not technically wrong, but it still hurts to think about. “We did,” he affirms. “It’s become strained.” 

“No kidding,” Jongho snorts, having settled back down in his seat. “Imagine dating someone from the military? I can’t stand them with all their rules and superiority complexes.” 

“Yunho’s not like that,” San defends. He never has been. The military just didn’t suit the older man. 

“And don’t forget that San also came from the Empire’s military,” Hongjoong reminds them as he steps into the room, Mingi hot on his heels. 

“Reasons why I’m not dating San,” Jongho teases. 

“Number one, he’s taken,” San retorts, biting his bottom lip at his own words. He’s taken, he thinks. He’s pretty sure. Yunho didn’t, like, break up with him or anything. He was just mad. Everything is fine. San has this all worked out. 

Their captain smiles at the banter between the two of them though he focuses his attention on San. “How did it go?” he asks the blond.

San averts his gaze as he continues to comb his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame the mess. “It...went,” he answers, voice cracking a little at the end. Jongho snickers from his seat, and he awkwardly clears his throat, massaging his neck with delicate fingers. 

“It sure looks like it did,” Hongjoong remarks, crossing his arms over his chest. He graces the blond with a very pointed once over, and the younger man tries very hard to will away the blush on his cheeks. “It looks like it either went very well or very badly.” He cocks his head to the side as he continues to observe the blond. “Did you get into a fight or…?” 

“Um,” San shrugs his shoulder innocently, “both?” 

Hongjoong hides a smile behind his hand while Wooyoung turns towards, smacking the blond on the arm. “Are you kidding?” he demands. “What the hell was all this for then?” 

“Don’t worry,” San assures him. “This will work. Just trust me.” 

  
  
  
  


The damage done to the engines is so extensive and difficult to repair that they require the ship to be towed to the nearest planet. Things onboard are fairly quiet following the incident with the pirates. Everybody seems quite subdued considering the events that transpired. Yunho is no exception to this despite his close encounter with two of them. 

Yeosang confirmed that he has a minor concussion the day after the incident and ordered him to rest for the next few days. “Only light work and stimulation,” the doctor ordered, handing over a small vial of painkillers. “I don’t want you thinking too hard about anything.” 

“You make it sound like I’m stupid,” Yunho joked, accepting the bottle of pills. 

“You will be if you don’t listen to me,” Yeosang threatened. He pointed to the bottle in Yunho’s hand, “If your head starts to hurt, take two every twelve hours.” 

“Got it.” 

“And I’m serious about resting. It’ll only get worse if you don’t rest.” 

Resting is not a particularly difficult thing for him to do between Yeosang’s orders and the fact that there’s not much he can do while their ship is being towed. Unfortunately with nothing to keep him preoccupied his thoughts often and extensively drift over to San. He hid the Galaxy Drop inside of his closet, deep under layers of clothes. He doesn’t want anyone to know about it, worried about the questions he might be asked if someone found it. 

He does, however, take it out every night. It’s beautiful, and it makes him a little homesick, but Yunho still can’t help himself from holding it in his palm, admiring it. The thoughts and questions still plague him though. Was this truly authentic? Yunho wasn’t much of an expert to be fair. Where had he gotten it? Was he really trying to fulfill that promise from so long ago? 

San. 

Much of his brain capacity has been dedicated to the blond as of late. It’s led to more than one headache, but actively trying not to think about the blond only makes him think about him more. It’s really quite the predicament. San was gone by the time he woke up—unsurprising considering he would be arrested for piracy if the Empire ever got their hands on him—and he hasn’t heard from him since. So much for things being different this time around. 

They make landfall on Oceanus twelve cycles after the attack. It’s a planet covered entirely in water, no land surfaces ever formed on it naturally. Humans created artificial land masses in order to inhabit its surfaces, but Yunho feels a little seasick when he stares down into the clear blue waters from the dock they’ve landed the ship on. He’s on break from work, and Yunho had heard that the endless sea on this planet is a sight to behold. It is pretty, Yunho admits, but he misses home.

The vast, almost unnatural hue of the ocean waters held nothing in comparison to the lush, green landscapes Yunho is used to. Plus, he thinks, drawing his hand back when he touches the icy waters for the first time, home is a lot more inviting than this. Oceanus is pretty, but it’s bare and uninviting. Only miles of oceans between the small land masses humans called their homes. 

In all honesty, however, Yunho cannot fairly judge the beauty of a planet. Well traveled as he may be now thanks to his time in the military, traveling to new worlds was never his motive. He had always been happy at home, no real desire to go anywhere new. It’s the complete opposite of San who probably would have loved this planet. Planets like Oceanus are the reason San had been so determined to get off their planet—a reason Yunho could hardly comprehend.

He wonders if the blond had come here before.

“Hey!” 

He turns to look over his shoulder to see another soldier in uniform waving for him. Yeosang had cleared him for work by the time they landed but stressed that he shouldn’t strain himself too hard. If his head started hurting or his vision blacked out he needed to stop working immediately. His work clear came just in time because Yunho had his hands full helping in the repair of the ship’s engine. 

“Break’s over. We have to get back to work,” the soldier calls for him.

With a little sigh, Yunho picks himself up from his squatting position, wiping his hands down on his work uniform. It’s easy for him to tear himself away from the vast and endless ocean to head back to work. All he really wants to see is the lush, dense forest from home, and frowns when he thinks San probably doesn’t feel the same. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Excuse me?” Seonghwa asks, blinking at the admiral. 

The older man sighs, tapping his finger impatiently against the table that he and the lieutenant captain of the ESS Horizon are sitting at. “You heard me loud and clear, Park. Your ship will be ready to depart in a few days time, and  _ you _ will be acting as captain for the remainder of this journey. Captain Kim has shown himself not to be competent. The encounter you had with those pirates proved as much. This was decided by the higher ups.” 

The pirates hadn’t taken much in the way of valuables. They’d stolen some fairly common supplies and the majority of their fuel reserves. Nothing of great value. If anything it seemed to be nothing more than a scavenging of supplies. That was just the problem though. The thing that’s been bothering Seonghwa about the whole thing. Why on earth would they take the risk of attacking a military ship just to restock?

Sure, they won the exchange, but that was no guarantee to begin with. Other ships would have been an easier target, like a merchant ship which were usually traveling light on the weaponry. They were either really desperate or eager to show off. Seonghwa can’t figure out which it is though. Nothing about their actions made any sense to him.

And while he doesn’t think he would have taken the same actions as his captain, he didn’t blame the man for his decision making. He wasn’t wrong in theory. The Aurora shouldn’t have stood a chance against their gravity cannon, but they also never expected the pirate ship to be hiding one themselves. Standard light cruisers did not come with such weapons. It must have been scavenged or built by them at some point, but to put all their luck into that? Madness.

“But—” Seonghwa feels his heart twist at the news. It’s not as if he doesn’t want this. He had his own ambitions of becoming captain, of course, but not under these circumstances. Not after what happened. He’s not ready to take over as captain let alone think about how the crew will react to and handle the change of power. 

“This is your chance to prove yourself, Captain Park,” the admiral says. “You do want to be captain, don’t you?” 

“Yes,” Seonghwa responds reluctantly. 

“Good.” The admiral pushes his chair out to stand up, lifting a hand up to salute Seonghwa. The newly promoted captain scrambles to return the gesture. “Once the repairs are finished you and your crew are expected to take off to finish this mission. It must not be delayed any longer.” 

Seonghwa bows his head down in acknowledgement. “Of course, admiral.” 

The older man gives Seonghwa an appreciative once over. “Now that you are captain, I suppose it is time we discuss what your real mission is.” Seonghwa startles at that, staring at the admiral in shock. “I will arrange a meeting with the higher ups. It’s time you know the truth.” With that, he tips his head in acknowledgement before turning on his heels. Seonghwa watches him go, still in a state of shock. What truth?

  
  
  
  


Yeosang pulls Yunho aside the day before they’re set to take off again. The doctor looks pensive, fingers tight around Yunho’s wrist as he stares at his friend. The elder licks his lips as he allows the doctor to pull him to a more secluded area of the dock. He has an idea of what Yeosang wants to talk about, but he doesn’t say anything—not particularly eager to have this talk. He has no idea what he’s going to say. 

“I heard you got moved to the green cycle,” Yeosang says, finally dropping his grip on Yunho’s arm. He glances around the dock. There are people milling about, both fellow crew members and residents of the planet, but no one pays them any mind. 

“Oh.” Yunho hadn’t expected that to be the first thing out of Yeosang’s mouth in all honesty. “Yeah,” he confirms with a slow nod of his head. Seonghwa had informed him earlier that he would be switching over to the green cycle. He hadn’t said much about why, and Yunho hadn’t asked, just accepted the shift without protest. 

Yeosang frowns, his expression a little sad, and says, “I’m staying on the red cycle.” So much for their meal times and bothering each other during work hours. At least they’ll still be on the same ship though. Yunho consoles himself with that much. 

“I don’t know why I got moved,” the engineer admits, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize.” Yeosang shakes his head. “It’s not something you can do anything about. I’ll just really miss my meal buddy.” 

“You mean someone to dump your complaints on when you’re bored,” Yunho teases. 

Yeosang’s lips turn up into a smile, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Yunho takes a deep breath. He knows it’s coming. “Who was that guy?” Yeosang asks, getting straight to the point. It’s something Yunho both admires and hates about him. The doctor isn’t one to beat around the bush if he wanted to know something. “That pirate. You know him, right?” Yunho digs the toe of his shoes against the concrete of the docks, staring down resolutely at his feet. “I would have asked you in a more private setting, but I heard about your move to the green cycle.” Ah, so that’s why he asked about it. 

“What makes you think I know him?” Yunho finally asks. “He held a gun to my face, you know.” His question is really nothing more than a delay tactic. Yeosang could immediately tell that Yunho knew the pirate. The young doctor was much too astute to just allow Yunho to play innocent like this, but maybe, just maybe, he could deflect him. 

Yeosang narrows his eyes at him but refuses to back down. “He was looking for you,” he points out. “You, a ship engineer. Doesn’t make much sense to me. Plus, he asked me who I was.” He looks his friend up and down critically. “But he didn’t ask who you were because he already knew, didn’t he?” Yunho sighs, shoulders slumping as he hangs his head. There is no getting past Yeosang, so he doesn’t know why he even bothered trying. “Yunho, who is he? Did he hurt you?” 

“No,” Yunho responds quickly before hesitating. That’s not exactly true though, is it? San hadn’t done anything more than hold a gun to his head, so he hadn’t hurt him. Physically, at least. Emotionally, well, maybe Yunho is lying a little. “I came to get my head checked out after the incident, didn’t I? I had no other injuries.” 

Yeosang presses his lips into a thin line, but he can’t deny that Yunho is right about that. Aside from some minor cuts and bruises—all likely a result of the impact—his only major injury had been to his head, and that had been before the pirate showed up. “Alright. You still haven’t told me who he is though.” 

Sucking in a deep breath, Yunho peers over towards the sea. 

“Yunho, who is he?” Yeosang continues to prod, waving a hand in front of his face when he notices the blank look Yunho has. 

The older man snaps out of his daydream, turning to look at Yeosang with a pitiful look. The doctor almost feels bad for a moment, but he doesn’t take his question back. He can’t. Finally, Yunho straightens up and, in a quiet voice, says, “There was someone I loved once.” Yeosang blinks at the statement, taking one step back in shock. “I joined the training academy as a cadet for him. I was scared that he would leave me behind...on our home planet. That’s why I became a soldier.” 

“And that pirate is...him?” Yeosang asks hesitantly. Yunho nods his head in confirmation. The lump in his throat prevents him from verbally answering. “Jesus,” Yeosang places a hand on his forehead. He hadn’t seen that one coming at all. “You joined the military to follow a pirate into space?” he asks, suddenly realizing the gravity of Yunho’s words. 

The engineer shakes his head furiously, eyes wide with shock. “No,” he denies. “Absolutely not. He—he didn’t start a pirate. He used to be part of the military too.” 

That, apparently, just makes it worse. “ _ What? _ ” Yeosang covers his mouth when he realizes he may have spoken too loudly because Yunho winces and quickly scans their surroundings. Nobody seems to pay them any attention. Still, the doctor lets a brief pause of silence pass between them before he tries to speak again. “So...your boyfriend just left the military to become a pirate?” 

Yunho shrugs his shoulders helplessly because that’s about as good of an explanation as he can think of. San never really gave him a reason, just that he wanted to, and that he was sorry for doing this to Yunho. “I guess,” he croaks out. 

“Wait,” Yeosang stares at him suspiciously. “Did you know? That they were going to raid us like that? Did he  _ tell _ you?” 

“No!” Yunho answers quickly, shaking his head vigorously in denial. “I had no idea. You saw him, Yeosang. He pointed a gun at me!” 

“But you didn’t think he would actually shoot you, right?” 

Yunho sighs, fingers playing with the hem of his uniform. “I didn’t think he would, but I didn’t  _ know _ that he wouldn’t. I loved him—once—but he’s not the same person I knew. I won’t say that I didn’t play a part in his, or their, decision to attack. He knows this is the ship I’m stationed on, but it’s not like he warned me or anything. I didn’t know anything about it, and I was just as shocked as you to run into him.” 

“And the other one? The first pirate we ran into?” Yeosang presses. 

The engineer shakes his head. “I don’t know who that was.” 

Yeosang’s posture relaxes as he releases the breath he’s been holding on to this whole time. “Okay,” he concedes. “I believe you.” Yunho takes a deep breath, slowly exhaling in relief. “I should technically report you for this,” Yeosang say quietly, frowning at the panicked look on his friend’s face, “I won’t, though. Just...tell me if something else happens. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” 

Yunho nods his head in agreement. “I will.” 

  
  
  
  


When Seonghwa announces that the captain has retired suddenly, and he will be replacing the captain for the remainder of this journey, Yunho is more than a little shocked. They had all just boarded the ship after the final checks and maintenance were carried out. The crew members were quickly herded on board. Seonghwa gathered everyone in the mess hall to announce the change in leadership. There are some murmurs through the crowd once his words sink in, but nobody says anything to protest the notion. 

Almost as soon as they were gathered, they’re dismissed when Seonghwa orders everyone to report to their posts and prepare the ship for take off. The engineer catches the elder’s gaze for a brief moment, and the question must be evident in his expression because Seonghwa, his captain, shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. 

Yunho doesn’t have time to ask, though as he’s carried through the crowd and towards the engine room. Something must have happened, he thinks, fixing his closed circuit communication device into his ear. It’s only a short moment before Seonghwa is there with him. 

“Engines are powered up. Everything looks good down here,” Yunho reports as he checks the status of their engines, holding the small communication device to his lips. “We’re ready for take off whenever you are.” 

“Good.” A beat of silence follows before Seonghwa continues, “I know what your question is, and the answer is I don’t know. We can talk about it later.” 

“Did they give you a reason?” 

“Nothing concrete,” Seonghwa answers with a sigh. “They just said it was because of the incident with the pirates.” 

Yunho scratches his head, wincing when his fingers rub a little too hard against his head. It’s still a little sore. “It just doesn’t feel right,” he tells Seonghwa. “I mean, to just replace him like that? Sure, we lost control of the situation, but it could have been worse. They only took menial shit.” 

“I know. Trust me, I feel the same, but what am I supposed to do?” 

Yunho sighs. “Fair enough.” 

“We’ll talk later,” his captain promises before ending their communication. 

Flopping down into the seat at his work bench, Yunho releases an exasperated breath as he stares at his screen. He’s happy for Seonghwa, at least. The man probably deserved a promotion at some point, but the timing just felt weird to him. Why would they hand over such a harsh response to a relatively minor incident? Were they that ashamed that a military ship had been raided by some pirates? And if that was the case, how did that bode for Seonghwa? 

Yunho shakes his head, banishing the thought from his mind. Seonghwa promised they could talk about it, and—he decides—he would trust that. For now, he just needs to do his job and forget about everything else. 

  
  
  
  


“Is this wise?” Wooyoung asks, stepping into San’s quarters without the blond’s permission. He looks over his shoulder at Wooyoung, upper body bare as he was changing when the younger man decided to barge in. Turning back to his dresser, he quickly pulls a shirt on before turning to face his friend. 

“What do you mean?” he asks, walking over to his bed and sitting at the edge of it. 

Wooyoung leans his body against the doorway of the room, frowning at the coy smile on San’s lips. Usually he’s all for the blond’s playful personality, but this whole thing is making him antsy. “I mean, are we not going about this the roundabout way? We could have secured the ship and interrogated them until we found what we needed,” he points out. “What’s the point of all of this?” 

“They would have had back up coming long before I’m sure they would have divulged what they’re transporting and where it is,” San responds, crossing one leg over the other. He leans back on his hands, tilting his head at Wooyoung. 

“Because we let them,” Wooyoung retorts. He crosses his arms over his chest, unimpressed by San. 

Sighing, the blond looks away from him, to his bed sheets, blond locks falling into his eyes. “It was necessary,” he insists. “Trust me on this. We’re doing it the way we need to.” 

“In what way?” Wooyoung challenges, stepping into his room. San lifts his head up to meet his gaze. Wooyoung isn’t mad at him, he knows. He won’t start a fight, but he wants information. More than what San is willing to give him, and the blond isn’t keen to show his hand just yet. “We’re pirates. We take what we want, not make some convoluted plot.” 

San smiles at him, the expression nothing more than a shield to keep Wooyoung from picking at his brain. “That’s because you have too narrow a definition of treasure.” 

Wooyoung squints at him. “It’s that guy, isn’t it?” he finally asks. “Our mole.” San turns away from him, flopping onto his side before rolling over to bear his back to the younger man. He doesn’t dignify him with an answer. “He’s what you’re really after, right? Your ‘treasure.’” The blond keeps his lips sealed which only irritates Wooyoung more. “San, he’ll ruin you. He’ll ruin  _ us _ .” 

“He’s the reason I’m here,” San quips back, lifting his head up to peer back at Wooyoung from over his shoulder. “You’re free to think whatever you want, Wooyoung, but that won’t make it true. He’ll get us what you want, and I’ll get what I want. Is that not good enough for you?” 

Wooyoung steps up to the side of his bed, fingers curling against the metal frame built into the ship. “Are you sure about this?” he asks again. “I understand that this is what you want, but are you sure you won’t be putting yourself in jeopardy in the process? Last I recall you hadn’t spoken with him in  _ months _ .” 

“We’re still technically dating,” San defends. As far as he’s aware this is true at least. It’s not as if San’s surprise visit had ended  _ poorly _ . Yunho just got a little heated with him. 

“You look like you got into a fight when you came back,” Wooyoung argues impatiently. 

“So? We have growing pains.” San rolls onto his other side to face his friend, glaring up at him from the bed. “Everyone does.” 

Frowning, Wooyoung leans in close, eyes searching San’s for a moment. “You’re playing a dangerous game,” he finally says. “With him and yourself. I don’t want this to backfire on you. You’re my crewmate.” 

San reaches out to cup the Wooyoung’s cheek affectionately. This time his smile is genuine. “I know what I’m doing,” he assures the younger man. He drops his hand down, reaching into his pant pocket to retrieve his scroll which he waves in front of Wooyoung’s nose. “Just give me some time. I trust you guys, but I also trust Yunho. This will work.” 

Wooyoung sighs, confidence already dropping a little, but he doesn’t voice those thoughts. “Okay,” he surrenders. “Will you at least tell me what it is you’re trying to get out of this at least? Don’t you trust me enough to tell me that?” 

“You already know exactly what I want,” San teases him. “Don’t pretend like you don’t.” 

“I don’t, though,” Wooyoung insists. He’s still in San’s personal space, still searching the blond’s expression for an answer he’ll probably never find. “I just don’t get it,” he finally sighs, exasperated with his friend. 

San huffs a little laugh at him, stretching himself out on his bed. “It’s because you have never loved someone before,” he answers. 

The younger man frowns at his words, eyes trailing down to the blond’s lips. “That,” he says hoarsely before clearing his throat, “is not true.” He doesn’t move, however, wouldn’t dare to. Not after last time many, many months ago. 

At the time, San had let him. Kind of. It had happened after a particularly exciting heist. Wooyoung had been on edge throughout the whole thing, and the adrenaline finally bubbled over when they had returned to the Aurora. Truthfully, he always liked San, even when he first boarded the ship as their newest member, and Jongho had eyed him suspiciously from a distance. Mingi, also, avoided the blond, both of them a little uncomfortable by the thought of a former Cerberus operative being on board. 

Not Wooyoung though. The younger man had been immediately intrigued by San—curious as to what would drive a member of Cerberus to turn pirate. It didn’t help that the blond was insanely attractive and dripping with confidence even during his first raid with them. At the time, Wooyoung acted on instinct, a little desperate but so ready to make something happen between the two of them. The blond hadn’t really reciprocated it when Wooyoung pushed him up against the airlock and kissed him, but he also hadn’t told Wooyoung to stop. It was only after he had pulled away and seen this really far off look in San’s eyes that he realized something wasn’t quite right. 

That was when San finally told him about Yunho. Wooyoung had been bitter, still is a little bit to this day, but he’s let it go for the most part. Doesn’t mean the desire to kiss San occasionally is gone though. 

San places a hand on Wooyoung’s shoulders, pushing him back a little. “Don’t,” he warns. 

“I wasn’t going to,” Wooyoung quips back, pulling away from his friend. “You’re not even that hot anyways.” 

San laughs at him, and he curls his lips back into a little snarl. That only makes the blond laugh harder. “I love you, Woo. You know that, right?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, brushing his hair back. “I’m your best friend. You better love me.” 

“I do,” he insists. 

Wooyoung looks at him, the disappointment palpable. “But not like your precious puppy.” 

San presses his lips into a thin line, sitting up on his bed. Wooyoung takes a step back, a little nervous. “Don’t call him that,” San tells him. It’s  _ his _ nickname after all. “He’s different.” 

“Maybe he won’t be after this,” Wooyoung suggests, biting his lip. “I’m worried he won’t be, at least.” 

“It’s fine,” San insists, fingers digging into the material of his pants. “It’ll be fine. Everything will work out.” 

“Okay,” Wooyoung whispers. “If you say so.” 

  
  
  
  


They’ve just taken off, and Yunho is working during the middle of his cycle when his scroll beeps with an incoming message. He doesn’t pay it any attention at first. There’s a lot of things he needs to check up on to make sure the ship is running smoothly for the remainder of their journey. The engines look good, and their energy sources are stable. He reports as much to Seonghwa when the captain checked in on him earlier. He’s just finishing a diagnostic run of their backup generator when the text comes in, but he puts it off until the test is finished running. 

When he picks up his scroll to check, he nearly drops it when he sees the one word message on his screen. 

_ Puppy _ . 

He catches the device against his stomach, wheezing a little in pain because he dug his hands harshly into his stomach to catch it. He looks around frantically like he expects someone else to be there, but there isn’t anyone around. Nervously, he turns the device over to check the message again. Sure enough it says “Puppy.” 

Before he can write back a scathing response to who he’s pretty sure the sender is, he receives another message.  _ How is your head? _

Oh yeah. Yunho knew exactly who this was. Quickly opening is scroll, he pauses, hesitating when he sees the unfamiliar messaging system before him. He quickly throws his caution to the wind, though, because there’s only a very, very small chance that San isn’t the one messaging him right now.  _ What the hell? San, this is my unit assigned scroll! _

The response is almost immediate:  _ I know _ . 

Yunho furiously types out a reply,  _ Then why the hell are you messaging me? They could track this. They could monitor this!  _ He bites his thumb nervously, again glancing around. There’s no one here, and what are the chances that someone is just sitting around monitoring his chats? Still, Yunho can’t help but feel nervous. What the hell is San thinking? 

His scroll beeps again when a new message appears, and he eagerly opens it up.  _ Relax. You notice this isn’t your average messaging application, no? I put it on your scroll for you. No one can track this, and the information is encrypted. You’re safe. I promise.  _

Paranoid, Yunho sets his scroll down on his workbench, quickly digging up whatever program San had implanted in his device. He goes through the source code feverishly, worried that there might be a hole there somewhere. As if he can see exactly what Yunho’s doing, San sends him another message,  _ I made it myself, so you can trust it alright? _

Yunho sighs, closing out the code. It’s not that he necessarily believes San enough to take him at his word, he just knows the blond well enough to know that San wouldn’t want this to be found. And if he doesn’t want it to be found, it won’t be. He thinks back to the last time he saw San. The blond had taken his scroll from him. He must have put it on then, sneaky bastard.

_ Then what do you want? _ he sends back. 

_ ….I want to know if your head is alright.  _

Yunho’s anger flares at the response.  _ San! I’m being serious. _

_ So am I! I want to know that you’re okay.  _

Yunho has no doubt that the concern is genuine, but he really doesn’t feel like now is the time.  _ I’m fine! Why the hell are you contacting me? You got what you came for, didn’t you? _

_ Because! This is what you wanted, right? And this is what I promised. I couldn’t stay on the ship with you, but I promised I wouldn’t leave you again. Not with just one letter. We can communicate whenever, wherever, about anything.  _

Yunho collapses into his chair, eyes glued to the message. He doesn’t know if he wants to laugh or cry. This wasn’t what he meant, not at all, and he knows San is aware of that. Still, this is the best the blond could muster under the circumstances, right? That in itself was kind of sweet. Yunho shakes his head to banish those thoughts.  _ I should report this to my captain,  _ he writes out.

_ No, no, no. Don’t do that! How will I talk to you then? _

Yunho wants to make some sort of witty reply, but he doesn’t because it wouldn’t make him feel any better. He turns off his scroll, taking a few minutes to gather himself, before he eventually drags himself out of the chair and back to work. 

  
  
  
  


Seonghwa catches Yunho at the end of his shift when he’s grabbing dinner from the mess hall. “Come meet me in my quarters,” he requests. Yunho looks at his friend before slowly nodding his head in agreement. After picking up his dinner tray, he leaves the mess hall to head for Seonghwa’s quarters, feeling a bit awkward as he stands in front of the captain’s room. He only enters when he realizes he probably looks even stranger standing outside of the captain’s quarters with his dinner tray in hand. 

Seonghwa looks up when the doors open, immediately gesturing for Yunho to take a seat at his desk across from him. He’s sifting through some paperwork, and the younger man moves some papers aside with one hand before setting his tray down on his desk. “Aren’t you eating?” he asks as he settles down in the chair across from the captain. 

Shaking his head, the elder fingers through the papers on his desk, brows furrowing as he starts to sort through the messy pile littering the space. “No, I’m not really hungry.” 

Yunho watches him work as he takes the first bite of his dinner. His gaze slides over to the computer on Seonghwa’s desk. “Wouldn’t it be easier to find everything on there?” he asks, pointing to the screen. 

“It would be,” Seonghwa sighs, finally tossing the papers down on the desk in frustration. He leans back in his chair, head tilting up towards the ceiling. “My promotion to captain was abrupt, so they’re still working on shifting everything to me. I can’t access this stuff on the database until they let me.” 

“Oh.” Yunho takes another bite of his food. He and Seonghwa had been friends since his assignment to the ESS Horizon. Seonghwa had already been a senior crew member at that point, working his way towards becoming captain. They’d worked the same shift and slowly bonded over meal times, kind of like how he’d become friends with Yeosang honestly. But Seonghwa is a captain now, and Yunho isn’t sure if he should be sharing any of his time with someone like an engineer. 

“I’m sorry,” the elder apologizes, slowly gathering his papers into something like a neat little pile. “I moved you to a different cycle out of nowhere. I apologize.” 

Yunho shrugs his shoulders. It’s really not a problem other than the fact that he and Yeosang now work different shifts. “It’s fine. It’s not so hard to adjust to because we were docked for a bit.” 

“Good.” Seonghwa folds his arms on top of his cleared desk. “That’s good.” 

Yunho slowly chews his food, raising an eyebrow at his captain. “So,” he begins, “you’re captain now?” 

Seonghwa sighs, tilting his head down to brush his bangs from his eyes. He figured this was coming. “Yes,” he answers. “It would seem that I am.” 

“What happened?” Yunho finally asks. “This is so sudden. Isn’t that too harsh? To just demote the previous captain because of one pirate attack?” 

“It certainly feels extreme,” Seonghwa agrees, lips pressing together thoughtfully. “I don’t know why this happened, honestly. That’s all they told me, that Captain Kim had been demoted due to the pirate incident, and rank is naturally passed on to the second-in-command.” 

“We’re just carrying supplies though,” Yunho said. “And they didn’t even take much of that stuff.” Seonghwa nervously tugs at the collar of his uniform. Clearing his throat, Yunho tries to change the subject. “But you’re captain now. Aren’t you happy?” 

“Not under these circumstances,” Seonghwa murmurs. 

“Well, once we finish this mission we can get back to normal,” Yunho suggests. “Then you’ll appreciate it.” 

The older man sighs. “Maybe.” He turns his body towards his computer, lifting a hand up to mess with it. “We were able to make repairs to our ship, but unfortunately Oceanus didn’t have much in the way of food supplies. We’ll have to make another stopover in the next galaxy which the admiral wasn’t too happy about, but what can you do?” He glances over to Yunho. “It’s bothering you, isn’t it?” 

The younger man startles in his seat, wide eyes looking over to the captain. “What is?” he asks. 

“The pirate attack.” 

Yunho freezes. Yeah, it’s true. It is bothering him because why would San go out of his way to attack the Horizon just to talk to him? Not only that, but how? He’s a pirate, but as far as Yunho is aware, he’s not the captain, so how did he manage that? All of that just for a menial restock? He doesn’t care how ballsy the Aurora captain is, surely even he would reject such an insane idea. But Seonghwa doesn’t know any of that. He can’t. 

Hesitating, Yunho struggles to think of something to say in response. 

“Come on,” Seonghwa prompts him. “I know you’re smart. You know there’s something off here.” 

Yunho clears his throat. “Yeah,” he agrees, mind working overtime to say something  _ not _ involving San. “I just...why us?” he asks. It’s truthful at least. Yunho had wondered about that, suspected and worried that they had been targeted for a reason, but their behavior—San aside—certainly indicated otherwise. 

Seonghwa leans towards him with a rueful smile. “Exactly,” he agrees, and Yunho feels his tension leave his body though he’s careful not to visibly relax too much in his seat. His shoulders lower and his fingers uncurl on his lap. Seonghwa doesn’t seem to notice. “It’s true they had an advantage. How should we have known they also had a gravity cannon?” Yunho gasps at that tidbit of information. “Still, it seems unnecessarily risky to attack a military vessel, right? What?” he asks when he notices the expression on Yunho’s face. 

“Is that what we were hit by?” he asks. “A gravity cannon?” 

Seonghwa nods his head, expression grave. “They outmaneuvered us. Hit the gas on their starboard side right before the gravity surge hit. We still clipped them on that side, but the captain already had you divert all power to the cannon, and, when we missed, he just wanted us to fire again. There was nowhere we could go with the engines out. We weren’t expecting that they would have a gravity cannon on a ship so small.” 

“I guess...that explains why they were so willing to engage us,” Yunho remarks. He isn’t too surprised by the fact that they equipped themselves with a gravity cannon. San would think to attach it to their ship if they came across one somewhere.

“Indeed, but would you still risk it? If you were a captain, would you really think that to be the best course of action? Just because now your fire power matches the enemy?” 

Yunho pauses to think about it. Realistically no, especially not if easier options were available for choosing. “Not unless there was another reason,” he finally says. “Or, at least, no other options available.” 

“My thoughts exactly,” Seonghwa turns back to his screen fingers tapping against it. “Which is why I got curious. Based on our position and their estimated position before they attacked us, there were better options available. A merchant ship lay only a few light years from them in the opposite direction. In fact, they were nearly on top of a passenger cruiser at the time. So, why a military vessel?” 

“Because they wanted something other than what they took?” Yunho concludes, palms feeling sweaty again. He thinks of the messages San sent, encrypted no less. The blond hasn’t tried to contact him since their last conversation, probably in fear that his data might be in jeopardy now. He should tell Seonghwa about them. He should definitely tell his captain that a pirate is trying to secretly contact him. He licks his lips and ultimately keeps his mouth shut. 

Seonghwa straightens up in his seat, rolling his chair forward so his legs are neatly tucked beneath his desk. “I’m going to tell you something, Yunho, because I trust you. But this information stays in this room between the two of us.” 

Yunho swallows nervously. “Are you sure you should be telling me?” he asks. 

“I shouldn’t be,” Seonghwa acknowledges, but he doesn’t seem phased by his own admission. “But, if I’m going to do this, be a captain, I need someone to be with me. Will you be with me?” 

“I’m—” Yunho stares down at his hands. Is he with Seonghwa? If he was, wouldn’t he tell him about San? Wouldn’t he tell him everything he knows? “I’m with you,” he answers. “You were my friend before, and you’re my captain now. I’m with you.” It’s in the past, he justifies to himself. The pirates raided them and left. What good would it do to tell Seonghwa about it now? 

  
  
  
  


When he returns to his own quarters at the end of his cycle, he immediately dives for his scroll. Without thinking, driven almost entirely by rage, he opens the program San planted on his device and types out a short message:  _ A cloaking device huh?  _

He stands there for a good few minutes, glaring down at the screen in front of him, waiting for an answer.  _ Ah, so you didn’t report me to your captain, _ is the innocent response he gets back. He can practically picture San right in front of him, staring up at him with wide eyes and pouty lips—a perfect picture of innocence. An absolutely guile expression in Yunho’s opinion. 

He doesn’t play the blond’s game though.  _ I know, San _ , he writes to him,  _ I know that’s what we’re actually transporting. That’s why you guys attacked us, right? To steal that.  _

Yunho waits a long moment before San responds to him again. He’s a little annoyed. What is the blond doing that’s taking him so long to respond? _Oh. Is that what you guys are carrying?_ _We knew you were hiding something, but not what it was. Thanks for that!_

Yunho startles a bit at his response. He thought the blond already knew. Did he just mess up?  _ Well, you didn’t get it _ , he responds petulantly because what else can he do in this situation? He had been angry when Seonghwa told him what their real objective was, not because he didn’t know, but because he assumed San  _ had _ . And he did know, in a way. He knew that they weren’t really just delivering a typical restock of supplies, but he didn’t know what they were delivering either. And Yunho...Yunho just let it slip out like an idiot. 

Fuck, Seonghwa would kill him. 

Another message comes for him, and Yunho hurriedly checks it, already thinking of ways to do some damage control. Instead what he finds is a whiny,  _ Yunho, I don’t want to talk about this _ . 

Well, that’s annoying because Yunho does want to talk about this. He wants to know what San’s end game is here. Did he really just come to see Yunho? He presses his lips into a thin line. No, he thinks to himself. There’s no way that’s all that San was after. That being said, there’s no point in trying to force the topic on to San for now. If the blond didn’t want to talk about something, he wouldn’t say a peep. 

_ Then what do you want to talk about? _

The response takes a while to come, but when it does Yunho’s eyes immediately zero in on his closet.  _ The Galaxy Drop! You got it, right? _ Yunho sets the scroll aside as he strides over to the closet, digging through the drawer he remembers hiding the little orb in. He yanks out a whole assortment of garments, freezing when he hears the distinct thud of something solid and heavy smacking against the bottom of the drawer. He fishes out the Galaxy Drop, holding it in his palm. 

_ Yes _ , he responds, holding the orb in his hand. _ I got it _ . 

_ Good. Do you like it? I kept it for you. I wanted you to have it. _

_ Where did you get it? _ The Galaxy Orb is unlike anything Yunho’s seen before. It’s beautiful, really. It’s not something Yunho would necessarily go out of his way for, but it’s certainly something that would have caught San’s eye. 

_ It’s just something I came across while traveling. Don’t worry about it.  _

Yunho winces a little at his answer. “Came across” is probably just a polite way of saying he stole it from someone.  _ What do you expect me to do with it? _

_ Whatever you want. It’s a gift for you, just like I promised _ . 

_ And I suppose you want me to keep up my end of the promise? _ he asks, wondering if San even remembers. 

_ As I recall, _ his response reads,  _ you said you didn’t need a Galaxy Drop to do that. I love you, Puppy _ . 

He fans his face with his hands, wondering if he raised the thermostat in his room. He doesn’t respond to San’s last message instead returning the orb in his drawer with a little sigh, hiding it back underneath his clothes. Pretty as it may be he can’t just have it lying around, so he tucks it safely into his drawer where no one else will know about it. 

  
  
  
  


“I got it,” San announces to Hongjoong when he steps onto the Bridge. His captain turns his head to look over his chair at him, and the blond holds up his scroll triumphantly. There’s no one else around right now, other than Wooyoung who turns in his seat to face him as well. Jongho and Mingi are nowhere to be seen. 

“Got what?” Hongjoong asks, biting the bait. 

San smiles, looking between Wooyoung and Hongjoong as he walks up to the captain. He drapes himself over the back of Hongjoong’s chair, holding his scroll in front of the elder’s face. “It’s a cloaking device. That’s what they’re trying to sell off.” 

Hongjoong raises his brow at that. “What? Every ship has one of those.” 

“No, this goes beyond just radar,” San says confidently. “It must. They’re trying to sell the technology off after all.” 

Hongjoong and Wooyoung exchange a look. “I mean,” the navigator begins softly. “It just doesn’t seem as valuable as we thought. We already have a way of masking ourselves,” he points to their monitors, “we’re using it right now—”

“No,” San denies with a shake of his head. “We have a way of masking ourselves until we’re detected. This goes beyond that.” 

Hongjoong cocks his head to the side. “You have proof of that. Did your source tell you?” 

“Well,” San hesitates, “no. He doesn’t know that. He wouldn’t.” 

The captain looks up at him, foot tapping against the floor impatiently. “So how do you know?” he challenges. 

San plants his hands on the armrests of Hongjoong’s chair, leaning over the captain. Hongjoong settles back into his seat though he looks far from phased by San’s actions. “They’re trying to sell the technology off to Sartyrans. For quite a pretty sum of money.  _ We _ know that. It must be valuable.” 

“What if it’s a technology the Sartyrans just haven’t developed yet?” Wooyoung suggests after a moment of silence. San rolls his eyes, turning to face his friend. “It’s possible,” the navigator suggests with a little pout. 

“They’re Sartyrans. They wouldn’t make a deal with humans unless they were desperate,” San points out, turning back to Hongjoong with a pleading expression. “And the military wouldn’t be selling it unless they were getting paid good money for it. It would have to be worth it for both parties. It’s gotta be something good.” 

“And if it’s not?” Hongjoong presses. 

Sighing, San pulls away from him, leaning back to settle his weight on the console instead. Hongjoong makes a face at him but doesn’t say anything. He waits for the blond’s response. San looks over to Wooyoung again, the younger man averting his eyes back to his controls, and presses his lips into a thin line. “You said you’d trust me on this,” he accuses, glaring at Hongjoong. 

“And I have,” the elder insists. “We’ve played it your way so far, but I need to know that there’s a profit for all of us. Not just you.” 

“Fine.” San crosses his arms over his chest. “If it’s not something that we can use on our ship, then we act as the middleman and finish the deal with Sartyrans ourselves. We make a profit either way.” 

Hongjoong seems to think about it for a second. “Alright,” he agrees, sitting up in his seat. “We continue with the plan then. If the technology is useful, we win. If it isn’t, we’ll turn a profit.” The tension in San’s frame visibly fades when Hongjoong agrees to his plan, and the elder takes notice. His gaze moves over to Wooyoung who continues to fiddle with the computer at his own station. “Wooyoung,” he calls for the navigator. “Why don’t you take a break?” he suggests when the younger man looks at him. 

Nodding his head once, Wooyoung hops up from his chair, sparing San an apologetic look on his way out. The blond smiles thinly at him because he is a little pissed, but he’s also not one to hold it against Wooyoung. He’ll get over it soon. When Wooyoung is gone, Hongjoong shifts in his seat, crossing one leg over the other. “Tell me the truth,” he requests. 

San jumps at the question, curious gaze fixed on Hongjoong. “What?” he asks. 

“Tell me the truth,” Hongjoong repeats, fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt. “I trust you, San. You’re my crewmate. I believe that you’re trying to get us something out of this, but I also know that you couldn’t care less about this cloaking device.” San turns his head away. Hongjoong traces his lips as he thinks. He thought he had the blond all figured out, but more and more he’s starting to rethink that notion. “I thought you wanted to see your lover again. You did that, yet you still seem set on stealing this item from him. Why? The technology doesn’t hold value for you. I can see that clear as day.” 

“It could be useful,” San mutters defensively.

“It could be,” Hongjoong agrees, “but whether or not it is is completely inconsequential to you, isn’t it?” He tilts his head to the side, brows furrowing in confusion. “You...don’t want them to make the delivery,” he concludes. 

San’s jaw clenches, and his expression hardens. “They can’t make that delivery,” he says. 

Hongjoong tilts his chin up, finally understanding. At least a little bit. He understands now that this is what San has been after this whole time. The only question now is, “Why?” he asks.

San huffs out a breath, brushing his hair away from his eyes. “Have I ever told you why I left the military?” 

Hongjoong raises his brows at the question. San, in fact, has never divulged the truth to him before. He knows the blond hates the Empire. That has always been clear, but Hongjoong has never exactly known why. “Because you hate the Empire,” he answers, though again, the question of why lingers.

“I did,” San admits. “I still do. Haven’t you ever wondered why? You found me on an outlaw planet. Me, an ex-Cerberus agent.” 

“I did,” Hongjoong agrees, sitting up more attentively in his seat. “I won’t say that I haven’t wondered, San, but I also respect your privacy. The reason doesn’t matter to me as long as I know that  _ you _ have our backs.” 

“And I do,” San assures him, “because I know you have mine.” The blond tucks his hair behind his ear and fixes the captain with a hard look. “So, let me tell you why I actually left, and why I won’t let the ESS Horizon make that delivery.” 

  
  
  
  


Their little exchanges continue like this. They don’t talk about much of anything, just their days, how they’ve been doing. Sometimes they talk about the past. Yunho likes those conversations. They allow him a brief reprieve from reality, and he’s able to live in the past, if only for a little while. The most uncomfortable conversations are the one where San brings up the idea of him leaving the military. 

The first time, Yunho had responded with what was probably unnecessary anger. 

_ I’m no deserter like you _ .

It had been excessively mean in retrospect, and Yunho had felt bad almost as soon as he’d sent it. San, though, had taken the jab in stride, brushing it off like he hadn’t even seen it. Yunho wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It’s a topic that San doesn’t necessarily press him on, but that he brings up often enough that Yunho definitely takes notice. 

_ Why? Why do you want me to leave the military so badly? _ he finally asks when San brings it up for the nth time during his 10th cycle. He’s trying to work, but San’s words keep nibbling at his thoughts, making it harder to focus. They’re only about a third of a way to their next destination: a small planet that operated as a trade outpost on the edge of the Bell Galaxy. It’s supposed to be their last stop, one final break to resupply on the materials the pirates robbed them of that they couldn’t obtain on Oceanus. 

_ You never really wanted to be in the military to begin with _ , is his reply. Yunho snorts when he reads the response. It’s a simple enough answer. It’s also a true enough answer. Yet, for some reason, it’s not the answer Yunho is expecting. 

_ It’s my job. If I go back, what do you have? I never wanted to work in the mines. _ He challenges. 

_ Whatever you want _ , San insists.  _ You wouldn’t have to work anywhere. I could take care of you _ . 

Yunho shook his head.  _ With your piracy? _

The messages stopped for the rest of his cycle. Yunho wondered if that question had angered him somehow. When he turns in for the end of his cycle, he receives a message from Yeosang, practically diving for his scroll when it pings with a notification. He feels awful when his excitement immediately dissipates upon seeing the doctor’s name over the message. 

_ Hey, how was your shift? _ the message reads. He probably wrote it as soon as he woke up. The red cycle isn’t due to start for another twenty minutes, but Yunho isn’t surprised that Yeosang is already awake. He was always an early riser. He’s struck with a sudden sense of guilt. Yeosang had, against his own judgement, kept San a secret, and only asked for Yunho to let him know if something else happened. 

Yes, well, turns out San had planted a code on his phone so that they could communicate which is what they’ve been doing for these last few cycles, and Yunho hadn’t breathed a word about it to anyone. Granted, he worries that Yeosang might follow protocol this time, and then what? Then Seonghwa would know. And then—Yunho doesn’t know, but probably nothing good would come of it. 

Still, he doesn’t really know what to do either. He doesn’t have anyone he could even discuss it with, so what is he to do? 

The light above his door shifts the red indicating the start of the red cycle. Yunho changes out of his uniform and into a pair of pajamas, and then he sits down at the edge of his bed, waiting some time because the people on the red cycle need to start their shift. When he’s fairly sure that breakfast is over, he picks himself up and heads out of his room. 

He knows the way to the medical bay easily enough. He’s been more than enough times. When he enters the bay he spots Yeosang right away. There isn’t anyone else around for which Yunho is grateful. The doctor looks up when he enters the room, blinking in surprise. Yunho awkwardly lifts a hand up to greet him. “Hey,” he says. 

“Hey,” Yeosang returns, sitting up in his seat. “Is something wrong? It’s your resting cycle.” 

“Can’t sleep,” Yunho says, walking up to his friend. 

Yeosang quirks a brow at the complaint, eyes sliding over to the clock indicating how long into the red cycle it’s been. Yunho smiles sheepishly, but Yeosang doesn’t comment. “Do you want some sleeping medication?” he asks. 

“Yeah.” The older man makes his way over to the nearest cot next to Yeosang and sits on the edge of it. 

“Is everything alright?” Yeosang asks as he digs through his drawers for some sleep medication. 

Yunho clears his throat. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Just have a hard time falling asleep.” 

Yeosang turns in his chair, holding out his hand and depositing a small tablet into Yunho’s palm. “Do you need some water?” he asks even as he gets up to grab it. He knows Yunho well enough by now to know he doesn’t like to dry swallow. He nods his head anyways, watching as the doctor retrieves a small cup of water for him. “So, is there any particular reason for the sudden insomnia?” 

Insomnia might be a bit of a strong word for Yunho’s case. Truthfully, falling asleep has become somewhat difficult recently, but it’s not as if he can’t get enough sleep. He accepts the small cup of water but doesn’t move to take the pill yet. “Do you remember about the person I told you about? The one I loved?” 

Tilting his head to the side, Yeosang slowly lowers himself into his chair. “I remember,” he answers quietly. “The pirate, right?” Yunho winces. He’s not surprised that this is how Yeosang remembers him. Why wouldn’t he? But he is a little disappointed nonetheless. 

“Yeah,” he says weakly. “Him.” 

Yeosang folds his hands together over his lap. “Has something happened?” he asks. 

The weight of his scroll feels heavy in his pocket, and Yunho hesitates. “I don’t know,” he swallows thickly, “if I should disclose that information to Seonghwa.” It wasn’t exactly his plan, but Yunho figures the sentiment is true enough. It had been there the last time he talked to the captain, but he kept his mouth shut. 

Yeosang blinks, evidently caught off guard by the question. “You mean the captain?” he asks. “You didn’t want me to tell anyone before.” 

“Yeah.” Yunho stuffs his hands between his legs squeezing them between his thighs. “I just...I don’t know. I’m loyal to him, you know? He’s my captain. This is my crew.” 

“But you loved him,” Yeosang adds for him. “And you’re conflicted about it.”

Yunho’s lips tremble because the doctor isn’t wrong, but he’s scared to admit that. “I still love him,” he says, staring down at his lap. 

The younger man stares at him, fingers smoothing over the pant legs of his uniform. He doesn’t really know what to say to that. He’s never experienced that kind of conflict before, never really experienced what it’s like to even love somebody, let alone a pirate. The only thing really guiding him here is his own friendship with Yunho and his military training. “Do you think that puts us in jeopardy?” Yeosang challenges. “If it doesn’t—well, I don’t think it’s really great that your lover is a pirate still, but no harm no foul, right?” He offers Yunho a weak smile. 

Yunho sucks in a shuddering breath. That’s the problem though, isn’t it? Is he placing them all in jeopardy because of this? The Aurora already attacked them. Surely, they wouldn’t do so again. San had gotten what he wanted, hadn’t he? 

“Choose where your loyalty lies the most,” Yeosang suggests. He motions for Yunho to take the pill. “I trust you to make the right choice.” 

Yunho nods his head before pushing the pill into his mouth and chasing it down with water. He doesn’t trust himself though. He heads back to his room, Yeosang’s words replaying over and over in his mind, though he falls asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. 

He wakes up to a new message from San. 

_ Check your bank account _ . 

He stares at the message bleary eyed and confused. His bank account, what? Confused, he uses his scroll to check his bank account, blanching when the amount of credits in his checkings account come back with one too many zeroes. That’s not possible. He makes an okay living as a soldier but not that much. How the fuck did San even do this? 

_ We don’t have a shared bank account yet, so this will have to do for now _ . 

Yunho scoffs in disbelief, turning his scroll off. No, no, he denies. This can’t be right. And yet when he turns the device back on and checks his bank account the number stays the same, and his heart pounds against his ribcage. What the hell was San up to? 

  
  
  
  


They’re halfway to their scheduled pit stop on Mercuria. The cycles pass by without much incident. Yunho goes to work, reports any updates to Seonghwa, and goes to bed. Rinse and repeat. Everytime the captain contacts him, Yunho opens his mouth to ask him if they can have a private meeting. He needs to tell the older man something, but each time he tries the words get stuck in his throat. 

He tells himself that it’s fine. Nothing he could divulge would probably even help them out. Yes, he knows a crew member of the Aurora,they have a history, but Yunho can’t even fathom what their next move will be. Even if he were to hand over the messages—a move he would very much like to avoid—they wouldn’t get anything out of it. He knows because San made it. 

One of the first things he’d done was try and backdoor the program. He figured if he could get through it he might be able to figure out where San was going. What the pirates might be doing. He might not have the same kind of expertise as San, but he tried. He tried to no avail, and he knows no one else would be able to do it. Not if he couldn’t. 

So, it’s fine. There’s really no point in telling Seonghwa in that case. 

The cycles drag on like this until Seonghwa announces that they will be making landfall on Mercuria soon. Arrangements have already been made for their restock, but they still expect to be docked for a few days. Some leisure time will be permitted. 

Yunho holds his breath as he forces himself to finish out the rest of his cycle. Just a few days on this little trade outpost, then this can finally be over. Maybe then he can start thinking about if he wants to stay. He misses home, and he misses San. 

“Hey,” Yeosang catches him when he’s on his way to his quarters. 

The engineer pauses, turning to face his friend. “Hey,” he returns the greeting with a strained smile. “Did you need something?”

Yeosang shakes his head. “We’re docked for a few days until our stocks are restored,” he reminds the engineer. Yunho nods his head. Yes, he knows. “I thought maybe you’d like to get a drink with me sometime. I heard from some of the other crew members that there's a good pub near the loading docks. I thought it might help take your mind off things, you know?” 

That actually sounds like a pretty good idea. “Sure,” he agrees. “Yeah, that sounds good.” 

The doctor smiles, pleased that Yunho agreed. “Then we have a plan.” He motions to Yunho’s quarters where the engineer had obviously been headed. “Why don’t you rest for now, though?” With a nod and a polite smile, Yunho excuses himself. 

  
  
  
  


“Mercuria,” San states, handing over a bundle of clothes to Hongjoong who eyes the ensemble with suspicion and dread. “Just as I said.” 

“Are you sure about this?” the captain asks skeptically, hesitant to take the clothing San offers him. 

“Of course,” the blond declares boldly. He pushes the clothes against Hongjoong’s chest, encouraging the older man to take them. “I tracked Yunho’s scroll. They’re definitely on Mercuria. Plus, it’s the only other trade outpost they’ll pass on the way to the agreed trade location.” 

The captain shakes his head, sighing when San finally manages to shove the clothes into his hands. “No, not that,” he says with exasperation. “I meant  _ this _ .” He shakes the bundle in San’s face, annoyed when the blond only stares at them blankly. 

“What? You don’t like them?” San glances down at the clothes with a frown. “I picked them out myself. You gotta appear like you’re a native, so comfortable, loose working clothes.” 

Hongjoong wants to smash his head into the nearest wall. “It’s not the clothes, San!” he snaps at the blond. “It’s the whole plan. Don’t you think Wooyoung is better suited for something like this? You’re asking me to extract information from the  _ captain _ of an Empire military heavy cruiser.” 

“Yes,” San acknowledges with a grin. “But that’s all you have to do is extract the information. I can take care of the rest.” 

“I can’t do that,” Hongjoong insists. “Why don’t we send Wooyoung instead? Wooyoung’s good at this sort of thing.” 

“He is,” San agrees. “But he’s also a known member of the crew. It’d be problematic if someone spotted him out. You, on the other hand, no one knows who you are. We can pass you off as a civilian of Mercuria.” 

“What about Jongho?” Hongjoong desperately tries. “Mingi?” 

Humming, San cups his chin as he thinks about Hongjoong’s alternatives. “Jongho...well, Jongho would probably start a fight,” the blond speculates, eyebrows knitting together as he imagines the youngest causing a scene. It wouldn’t really help them. “And Mingi...I mean, I suppose I could see it, but I could also see him annoying the hell out of Captain Park.” 

Hongjoong sighs because San is right. “I can hardly talk to people in general. How am I going to get someone to trust me with such highly confidential information?” 

“Captain Park is new. He might be military, but he’s new to his position. Plus, I know that he’s friends with Yunho, so he’s probably gullible.” San rifles through the pocket of his coat, pulling out a small little bottle, tip shaped like an eye drop dispenser. He shakes it in front of Hongjoong. “Besides, you don’t have to charm the information from him directly. You just have to charm him into getting a drink with you. Give him a couple drops of this, and we’re good. He’ll give up the information easily.” 

The captain eyes the bottle warily. “You want me to drug him?” 

San scoffs. “You’re a pirate. Don’t tell me you feel guilty?” Hongjoong snatches the bottle from him, grumbling under his breath as he takes it beneath the bundle of clothes he’s already carrying. The blond smiles, pleased with his compliance. “It’s not anything dangerous, by the way,” he assures the captain. “Just a common truth serum.” 

“Common,” Hongjoong scoffs. “If it’s coming from you, it’s most definitely not.” 

“Hey,” San pouts at him. “I’ll have you know the four of us have a great time when you’re not around using that. Did you know that one time Jongho—” 

“I really don’t want to know,” Hongjoong cuts him off, nose already scrunching up in distaste. San shrugs his shoulders but doesn’t try to finish his story. “So what will this do to him, exactly?” he asks in reference to the serum. 

“It’s fast acting,” San tells him. “He’ll just seem like he’s drunk, but he’ll be very open and honest about answering any questions you have for him. So slip him some of that, and then ask where they’re keeping the cloaking device. I’ll take care of the rest.” 

“How long does it last?” 

“It’ll make him pretty loopy,” San informs him. “I’d suggest just getting him a room at the nearest inn once you have what you need.”

Sighing, Hongjoong tilts his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Okay,” he tells himself, dropping his gaze down to the disguise in his arms. He can do this. This is an easy enough task, he thinks. 

“Captain,” San says to him quietly, drawing Hongjoong’s attention to him. “You’re with me on this, right? You have my back?” 

Hongjoong smiles at him. “Yeah,” he assures the blond. “I’ve got your back on this one.” 

“Good.” San smiles at him. “I’m counting on you. Let’s finish this heist!” Hongjoong matches his expression until San turns to leave, giving him some privacy to change. When he looks down at the clothes in his hands, he shakes his head and begins complaining again. How did he let himself get talked into this?


	3. Chapter 3

Mercuria is a small but very industrial planet. It gets a lot of traffic from traveler’s due to its status as an outpost planet, everything from merchant ships to passenger liners and military vessels make stops on the planet. The ESS Horizon hadn’t planned to make a stop here but circumstances kept them from completing their journey as planned. By now they would have been nearing the end if not for the pirate attack. 

Seonghwa takes a deep breath and tries not to cough when his lungs fill with dust and pollution, an unfortunate side effect of such an industrial planet. He makes his way towards the port. Arrangements have already been made to restock their vessel, but he still needs to find the trader and finish the agreement before they’ll begin stocking the ship. 

Weaving his way between bodies, he resists the urge to cover his nose. Another breath, another suppressed cough. He can’t wait to get off this planet. “Excuse me,” he mutters, side stepping a young woman who glares at him. He sighs, not allowing the unfriendly behavior to get to him when someone stumbles into his side, throwing him off balance. “Shit,” he curses, stumbling a few steps before catching himself. 

“I am  _ so _ sorry,” someone apologizes. 

Seonghwa rights himself, brushing his hands down on his uniform before turning to look at the culprit. The man a few paces away from him looks apologetic, holding his hands out like he wants to help but unsure of what to do. “Oh, no,” the stranger whispers as he eyes Seonghwa up and down. “Military.” Seonghwa shakes his head, feeling his pockets to make sure he has all his personal belongings on him still. He’s not new to this kind of crowd and wants to make sure nothing is stolen. Mercuria may be aligned with the Empire, but thieves existed everywhere. 

“Watch yourself,” he warns the man when he’s sure he has everything. He makes to leave, but the stranger jumps in front of him, startling the captain. Seonghwa glares at him. “What?” he barks. The man winces at his tone of voice, and Seonghwa forces himself to settle down. “Sorry,” he apologizes. “I’m not that angry at you, I’m just—did you need something?” 

“Well,” he stutters, “I just want to make sure, you’re really not angry with me, right sir?” 

Seonghwa looks the man over. He has a messy mop of brown hair and he’s stressed like any other resident of this planet, his clothes a bit dirty and worn. A worker then. “Just watch yourself next time,” Seonghwa repeats. He doesn’t have time for this. He attempts to move around the man, but the brunette once again blocks his way. “If you’re a pickpocket you’re doing an awfully bad job at it,” he remarks. 

“Oh, I’m no pickpocket, sir. My name’s Hongjoong,” the brunette says, holding his hand out with a bright smile on his face. 

Seonghwa stares at him for a moment. “Alright, Hongjoong,” he finally says, making a little shooing motion with his hands. “Will you let me be on my way now?” 

Smiling outwardly, Hongjoong inwardly curses himself as he tries to think of what to say next. This isn’t working. This isn’t working at all, and he  _ told _ San he wasn’t cut out for this. Being anything less than an awkward human being seemed beyond him at this point. The captain seems not at all interested in entertaining him. How the hell is he going to get this to work? 

For a brief moment, Hongjoong contemplates just dropping it and allowing Seonghwa to go. There’s definitely no way he’s going to charm the captain into getting a drink with him, and he’s over making himself look like a fool in front of this man. He tries to justify it in his mind. He doesn’t need to do this. It’s possible to find their way to the goal without this, right? 

He thinks of San then. What the blond had told him. He hadn’t known. He’d found San at a bar on Thudros, a popular and well known safe haven for those who had declared themselves pirates or outlaws from the Empire. The blond had been tipsy and started a fight with another patron who had antagonized him. Things had quickly devolved, and soon people were either retreating from the bar or participating in the fighting. Hongjoong himself had only been looking for a short period of relaxation, and had quickly turned to leave—maybe find somewhere else to get a drink—when he’d been barreled over by a body. The blond had stood over him triumphantly, spitting in the face of the man he had literally thrown on top of Hongjoong. 

“Call me an Empire dog again,” he raged before stomping off. 

Hongjoong ran into him again the day after that, sober, at the docks, looking for passage to somewhere else. Rumor at the pub the night before revealed that the blond was an ex-soldier of the Empire. It wasn’t every day that a soldier turned up on Thudros. At least not one that wasn’t trying to arrest everyone in sight. He hadn’t been looking for a new crew member at the time. He approached only out of curiosity. 

“Where are you headed?” he asked, approaching the blond cautiously. 

San looked at him, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Home,” he answered curtly. 

“And where would that be?” 

The blond’s lips curled down sourly. “You offering a ride or not?” he demanded. “I’ve been stuck on this shithole for a month, and I want to get off.” 

“Might depend on where you’re going,” Hongjoong teases, tilting his head at the blond. “So, where’s home?” 

San glared at him, keeping his lips shut for a moment as he regarded the older man. Finally, he said, “Cadus A13K.” 

Hongjoong raised his eyebrows at him. “Quite far from home, aren’t you?” 

“Happens when you travel through space,” San remarked snidely. “So, are you offering or not? I can earn my way in work.” 

“You’re that confident you know your way around a ship?” Hongjoong asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I am,” San replied without missing a beat. 

The pirate smirked at him, taking a step closer to the blond. “Word around here is that you’re ex-military. From the Empire.” The blond tilts his chin up, not refuting the statement but refusing to be ashamed of it either. Hongjoong is impressed. “Is it true?” 

“Yeah, so what? I’m not anymore.” 

“I suppose that’s the reason you’re here?” Hongjoong eyed the blond critically. “Stuck on an outlaw planet?” 

San closed the distance between them abruptly, getting into Hongjoong’s face with the same anger he had the night before. “The Empire is trash,” he growled at the pirate. “So their army is by extension too. I ended up here because it was the one place they wouldn’t bother to chase down a traitor. They would have checked my home first. I laid low, now I want to go home.” 

Hongjoong raised his eyebrows up. The blond was certainly more fiery than he would have thought. “Deserter, huh?” he repeated, eyeing the ex-soldier up and down. “What do you think about becoming a pirate?” 

“What?” 

He’d recruited San like that, a scrappy little fighter he’d seen at a bar once in Thudros. An ex-Cerberus agent who seemed to have a burning hatred for the Empire’s military and desire to get rich quickly. He never knew the reason San ran away from the military, figured it was something personal. Maybe it kind of is. 

“Well, you see, sir,” he presses on, keeping Seonghwa in his spot, “I’m just a simple errand boy. I was just running a little late from my last delivery—don’t want to make the boss man angry, you know?—truly I just didn’t see you there. I am very sorry.” He even bows his head a little though he’s grimacing the whole time. “I just don’t want to get in trouble, you see. You’re military and all.” He motions to Seonghwa’s uniform with a sheepish smile. 

Seonghwa sighs. He’s annoyed by the errand boy, but he understands. “Look,” he says. “I’m really not mad, and I have no intention of reporting you to your boss.” 

Hongjoong smiles nervously. “Good,” he says. Not good, he thinks. He needs to lure Seonghwa in. How does he do that? “Thank you so much.” Jesus, what does he say now? He stands awkwardly in place, just smiling at Seonghwa who raises a brow at his behavior. “I really like a man in uniform,” he blurts out. Seonghwa cocks his head to the side, and Hongjoong face flames. What in the hell just came out of his mouth? 

“Look, I have some business I really need to attend to,” Seonghwa clears his throat and motions to the market behind him. If Hongjoong were being sincere, he probably would have died from the sheer embarrassment already. As it were, he wishes he would die. He wishes he would just suffer a heart attack right here and now because he really just said that, and the captain’s only response was to politely ask if he could get back to business. 

“Um,” he stutters, teeth digging into his bottom lip. “Right. Yes, of course. I’m, uh—” He hates San. He decides right then and there that he hates the blond. Wooyoung would have been much better suited for this. He would have brushed that humiliation off and kept going. For the nth time, Hongjoong tells himself that he can’t do this. Yes, he knows he promised San but there’s no way. 

“Sorry,” the captain apologizes, looking down at Hongjoong sympathetically. “I’m just busy right now.” 

Hongjoong stares at his feet, scuffing his shoes against the paved pathway. The thought of the blond won’t leave him, and it drives Hongjoong to press on. “Will you be busy later though?” he asks quietly. 

The captain blinks at him, placing his hands on his hips. Something seems to click in his mind because he narrows his eyes at Hongjoong. “Is that what this is about?” he asks. Hongjoong looks up at him nervously, and Seonghwa shifts his weight to one leg. “You don’t even know my name.” 

“No,” Hongjoong agrees, smiling coyly. “I told you my name, but you never returned the favor.” 

Seonghwa’s eyes trail down the length of his body, and Hongjoong does his best to make himself seem as attractive as possible. He’s mindful of where he puts his hands, how he carries himself, how he angles his body just a little towards the captain. Try to signal interest, he coaches himself. He can do this. He can totally do this, he just has to—

“I believe you said you were late reporting to your boss.” Seonghwa interrupts his chain of thought of Hongjoong’s body language falls apart. 

“Oh.” The brunette struggles to find words. Right. His boss that he said he needed to report to. That’s why he had been running and why he crashed into Seonghwa to begin with. He wants to run all the way back to his room and hide under the bed. So much for thinking he could do this. They’ll just have to find another way to their goal. “Right, yes. I should probably get going.” Ducking his head, Hongjoong attempts to scurry away with the intention of absolutely tearing into San later. He is never listening to another one of the blond’s convoluted ideas. Ever. 

As he rushes past, the captain reaches out to grab him by the elbow. Hongjoong freezes at the action, worried that he may have blown his cover somehow. Did Seonghwa know he was lying? “There’s a decent bar on the far south side of these docks. I can manage one drink later if you want.” 

Hongjoong could jump for joy. It worked. He actually managed to charm the captain. Somehow. “Yes,” he agrees eagerly. “Definitely. I’ll meet you there.” 

“Okay.” Seonghwa drops his grip on the brunette’s arm, leaning in closer. “My name is Seonghwa, for the record,” he tells him. 

“Captain Seonghwa,” Hongjoong says with a smile when the other pulls away. 

The captain shakes his head. “Just Seonghwa is fine. Please. Anyways, there really is something I need to be doing.” 

“Of course!” Hongjoong says, eager to send Seonghwa on his way now that he’s got what he came for. “I should be going too. Don’t want my boss to be any angrier than he probably already is.” They part ways then, with the promise to meet each other again later that evening. 

  
  
  
  


San can’t help but people watch from the entrance of their ship. He’s not too keen to be running around in the open as things currently stand. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea for someone like him to be running around a trade outpost friendly towards and often frequented by the Empire militia. He sent off Hongjoong not too long ago in search of the Horizon’s captain, and he’s been anxiously waiting for his captain’s return to the ship. 

Wooyoung plops himself next to San, resting his chin in his hand as he looks around the crowded docks. “So where’s this precious puppy of yours?” he asks, squinting into the crowd. 

The blond digs his elbow into his friend's side, knees knocking together anxiously. “He’s not here,” he mutters, eyes scanning the crowd. There’s no one really interesting, just a bunch of people hurrying to and fro trying to finish their business. He checked up on Yunho earlier, but the elder hadn’t seemed to move from his current location onboard the Horizon. 

“That’s disappointing,” Wooyoung sighs, folding his hands against his stomach and leaning over. “Who are you waiting for then?” 

“Hongjoong,” San replies. 

His friend rocks himself back and forth, nodding his head in understanding. Silence passes over the two of them as they wait for Hongjoong to return. “I’m sorry,” Wooyoung finally says to break the silence, glancing over at the blond. San makes an unintelligent noise, confused expression meeting Wooyoung’s apologetic one. “For casting doubt on this whole thing. I always knew that this device wasn’t really what you were looking for, but I still antagonized you about it anyways. So, I’m sorry.” San smiles at that, and Wooyoung shoves him with his shoulder. “Don’t laugh at me,” he complains, “I’m being real with you.” 

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” San reaches around to catch his friend in a hug when Wooyoung attempts to knock into him again. “And it’s okay. I was mad at the time, but I forgot about it pretty much as soon as you left.” 

Grinning, Wooyoung leans his head against the blond’s shoulder, wrapping his own arms around his waist. “Good. I’m glad, but I still felt like I should apologize.” 

“Apology accepted.” San pats him on the back a couple of times, pulling up and away when he sees a familiar figure rushing for the ship. “And here comes Hongjoong.” 

“What did you have him do anyways?” Wooyoung asks, watching as their captain frantically weaves his way through the crowd of people to get back to the ship. 

San shrugs his shoulders, lifting a hand to wave at Hongjoong. “Oh, nothing too bad. Just some reconnaissance.” Hongjoong rushes up the staircase, quickly reaching the top where San and Wooyoung have settled themselves. “Did you get it?” the blond asks when the captain pauses to take a breath. 

“No,” Hongjoong wheezes out between breaths. “He really wanted nothing to do with me.” San frowns, worried as he already starts to think of another strategy to complete their plans. Then Hongjoong says, “But I did manage to score a date with him later tonight.” 

“Oh!” Wooyoung exclaims, perking up in interest even though he has no idea who they’re talking about. “You got yourself a date?” 

“Not like that!” Hongjoong whines, shoving his navigator away when Wooyoung wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Anyways, I’m not going in whatever the hell this is,” he motions down to himself, wrinkling his nose at his outfit. He makes a shooing motion at the two of them. “Now if you two would get out of my way, I need to change my clothes.” 

San pushes himself back and picks himself up, making enough space for Hongjoong to slip by. “Just don’t pick anything too flashy,” he advises as the captain passes by him. Hongjoong waves a dismissive hand at him as he beelines for his room, muttering something along the lines of knowing exactly what he’s doing. 

  
  
  


Hongjoong leaves for one of the bars later that evening. He stops by San on his way out, holding his arms out and silently challenging San for his opinion. The blond wasn’t personally a fan of the dark trousers and cotton red button down shirt, but he doesn’t look like a pirate, so he shrugs his shoulders at his captain before returning his attention to the scroll. He trusts that Hongjoong will take care of the rest now. 

It’s when he’s sitting down, going through his scroll that he decides to check up on Yunho. The older man hadn’t been speaking with him lately, and San was content to leave him alone for now. Still, he decides to see if he’s still staying aboard the ESS Horizon because if he doesn’t leave soon, San’s only option will be to contact him eventually. 

He sits up abruptly when he receives the tracking information from Yunho’s scroll, however. He’s on the move. He’s left. San jumps up from his seat, glancing down at himself. The white, loose knit sweater isn’t his best, but he thinks it looks okay over his black tank top. He checks his scroll again and decides he can’t waste time changing his clothes. He makes a break for the entrance of the ship, quickly running down the staircase and into the busy docks of Mercuria. 

He heads down a path leading to the city center, glancing down at his scroll occasionally to see where Yunho is. The older man is still on the move, and San follows his path diligently as he tries to piece together what he’s going to say in his head. He knows what he needs to do, it’s a matter of executing it. 

When he checks his scroll again, Yunho has come to a stop, and now San knows where he is. Smiling, he pockets the device and continues towards the city. Following the path, he shivers when a light breeze blows by, his sweater offering little protection against the wind. Crossing his arms over his chest to protect himself, he eyes the various businesses lining the streets of the port city, ducking into one of the bars. 

He does his best to keep a low profile as he walks around the rowdy patrons already scattered on the floor of the bar. It’s loud, the noise of mindless chatter droning through his ears as he glances around for a familiar face. It takes a moment to move around the floor of the bar before he manages to catch sight of his target. Yunho is leaning against the bar, a drink in hand, and talking to the person sitting on the barstool to his left. 

San presses his lips into a thin line as he stares at the two of them. He’s not really surprised that Yunho is out with someone, but it does make it a little more inconvenient. It also doesn’t help that San recognizes the man with him. The doctor he had come across on the ship. The one he had forced into the supply closet. They must be close, he thinks enviously. 

“Hey, San.” The blond jumps when someone smacks him on the arm, turning to face the person as his hand flies to his hip, ready to unsheath his hidden weapon if necessary. He sighs when he recognizes Wooyoung standing at one of the bar tables, nursing a pint of beer and looking at him curiously. “I thought you said you weren’t coming out,” he says. 

San removes his hands from his hip and turns to face his friend. “I wasn’t,” he agrees, looking around for the other two. “Where did Jongho and Mingi go? I thought they were with you.” 

Wooyoung takes a large gulp of his beer, sighing when he pulls the glass away and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. San wrinkles his nose in distaste. “They were,” the younger man says, shrugging his shoulders as he scans the bar. “They said they were going to get some food, and I haven’t seen them since.” 

The blond frowns at his explanation and asks, “How long ago was that?” 

“Half an hour,” Wooyoung snorts before finishing off his beer. “Now I gotta pay for them.” He motions to the empty glasses on the table and then sighs, cradling his face in his hands. “That’s probably what their plan was the whole time. Fucking bastards.” 

San eyes the empty glasses on the table before his gaze lifts up to Wooyoung who’s still muttering about what he’s going to do to Jongho and Mingi when he catches the two of them, and a thought crosses his mind. “Hey, I’ll pay for your drinks,” he offers. 

The offer seems to entice his friend who lifts his head up, though he still regards the blond warily. “You’re offering to pay?” he asks skeptically. He knows San well enough, and the blond wouldn’t just offer to pay for them all out of nowhere. 

San nods his head, the corners of his mouth lifting up into a coy smile. Wooyoung is immediately on edge. “Sure, if you do me a favor.” 

His friend groans, tilting his head back. “A deal with you?” he asks. “I don’t know if that’s worth it.” 

Despite his pout, San is quite pleased with himself that Wooyoung’s immediate response to the mere suggestion of a deal is dread. “You don’t even know what I want yet,” he whines, moving the glasses to the side. He sets his hands down on top of the table and smiles innocently at his friend. “I’ll even buy you another round of drinks.” 

Wooyoung still looks suspicious on the other side of the table, eyeing the blond up and down. “Something tells me I won’t like this,” he mutters, looking around the bar. He tugs on the hood of his jacket as he tries to eye the other patrons. Something tells him this has to do with San’s lover boy, but Wooyoung can’t catch sight of him. “Fine. Let’s hear the deal then,” he grunts. At least that way he can decide if it’s not just worth paying the tab off himself. 

Licking his lips, San shuffles around the table until he’s next to Wooyoung, hunching down a little as he points towards the bar inconspicuously. “Do you see the guy sitting there? Third stool from the left.” Wooyoung’s gaze follows where his finger points, narrowing on the patrons sitting at the bar. 

“Oh.” Wooyoung sounds deadpan. He can recognize Yunho easily enough. He had been the one to alert San on the Horizon, after all. His jealousy flares, and he knew he wouldn’t like this. “The one sitting next to your lover boy?” 

“Yeah, him,” San confirms, lowering his hand to the table top. “He’s in my way.” 

“What the hell do you want me to do? Kill him?” 

“No!” San smacks Wooyoung on the chest. Wooyoung shies away from him, shoving him on the shoulder in retaliation. “I just need you to distract him, so he doesn’t notice when his friend is gone for too long. I need to talk to Yunho.” 

Tapping his fingers against the table top, Wooyoung stares at the empty glassware thoughtfully. “Let me get this straight, so,” he begins, keeping his eyes fixed on the glasses, “you’ll buy me some alcohol if I help get Mr. Cockblock out of your way so you can fuck your boyfriend?” 

San grins at him. “Yes, exactly. Do we have a deal?” 

Wooyoung stares at his friend, playing with the hem of his hood. “You’re really mean, you know that?” he complains though it has very little bite to it. He doesn’t really want to do this—he has very little vested interest in watching his crush trying to bone his boyfriend—but he also knows he won’t be able to say no to San. He can’t.

“Wooyoung,” San whines his name, clinging to his arms. “You’re my best friend. Do it for me?” 

He groans in annoyance, slamming his palms on the table as he moves for the bar. “Fine,” he agrees, “but you seriously owe me one. After this and last time too.” 

San grabs him by the arm, though, pulling him back. “No, no, no,” he chides quickly, lifting his free hand up to beckon a waitress over. “Not just yet. I’ll let you know when to go. For now just have a drink or two on me.” San smiles as he pulls out his credit card, handing it over to Wooyoung who snatches it from him before the blond can even think of taking it back. The waitress comes over, and Wooyoung shoots San one last look of suspicion before he orders another drink. 

  
  
  


The bar Seonghwa suggested is surprisingly lowkey. The lights are dim and the noise level is tolerable. Hongjoong can honestly say he’s shocked by the atmosphere. He cannot say if this is a boon or a bane for the plan though, and Hongjoong supposes that he’ll simply have to play whatever he can to his advantage. 

A hand lands on his shoulder, startling the captain, and he turns to face Seonghwa. “You scared me,” he grumbles under his breath, watching as Seonghwa walks past him. 

“I apologize,” the captain says, motioning for Hongjoong to follow him. 

The pirate hesitates for a moment, stomach twisting into anxious knots, and he swallows a lump in his throat before he scrambles to catch up with Seonghwa. The captain leads him to an unoccupied corner booth, sliding into one of the seats before lifting a hand up to wave a barmaid over. An elegantly dressed woman stops by just as Hongjoong flops inelegantly into the other bench to drop off a couple of drink menus. 

Hongjoong isn’t one to say no to a drink. He and his crew often drinking together in their kitchen or at the bars of whatever planet they’ve made landfall on, but he’s never been one for any kind of fancy concoction. However, sneaking a glance at the captain who scrolls through the menu with interest, he wonders if he should be ordering anything in particular to keep up appearances. Surely it wouldn’t look too weird if he ordered a simple beer? 

When the barmaid returns to take their order, Hongjoong decides to play it safe. “I’ll have what he’s having,” he says when she looks at him expectantly. 

“Do you know what I’m having?” Seonghwa asks him when she leaves. 

The pirate sets aside his menu to fold his arms over the table, smiling brightly at the captain. “No idea,” he answers, and it’s true. He’s not much of a snob when it comes to drink. If it gets him drunk it’s good enough. So far things are going unexpectedly well. Now it’s just a matter of getting the information out of Seonghwa. The weight of the little bottle San had given him is heavy in his coat pocket. 

“Are you often like this?” Seonghwa asks him. 

Hongjoong tilts his head to the side at the question. “What do you mean?” he asks. 

The woman comes back with two identical drinks at that moment, and Hongjoong sits back when she sets one glass down in front of him. He can’t help but stare down at the tiny thing in front of him. There is a lemon twist speared through with a toothpick laid across the rim of the glass. Hongjoong watches curiously as Seonghwa lifts it up, dipping the lemon twist into his drink a few times, and he wonders when and why the Empire made it so complicated to have a simple drink. He imitates Seonghwa’s actions and quietly laments the fact that he missed his chance to just have a drink with his crewmates earlier. Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho had all gone out and were probably having a grand time getting shit faced, yet here he was, pretending he knew what the hell laid before him. 

“That whole act of yours from this morning,” Seonghwa elaborates. Hongjoong drops the toothpick into his drink, staring down at it in shock. The captain snorts, setting his own lemon twist aside before taking a sip of the drink. Hongjoong, again, copies him, licking his lips as he appraises the drink in his hand. It’s actually quite good, though he can’t fathom the point of the lemon. The citrus flavor doesn’t permeate the alcohol at all. “You don’t look like a simple errand boy to me.” 

Hongjoong presses his lips together, fingers tracing along the side of his glass. “I dress up nicely,” he excuses. 

“You’re not a great liar,” Seonghwa tells him, taking another sip of his drink. 

Hongjoong deflates a little. Lying isn’t exactly one of his talents. That was something more along the lines of Mingi’s gifts. Even Wooyoung was better at it, but, Hongjoong assures himself, Seonghwa hasn’t made a move to arrest him yet, so whatever he thinks he is, a pirate is probably not one of them. 

“Alright,” he concedes. “You got me. It was just an excuse.” 

“An excuse?” Seonghwa asks curiously. 

“To get you to keep talking.” Hongjoong smiles at him. 

“Ah, yes,” the captain acknowledges. “I’m not planning to be around for more than another day or so.” 

Hongjoong watches as Seonghwa takes another sip of his drink, leg bouncing nervously beneath the table. He hopes the captain will be willing to stay around for another round, at least, because Hongjoong isn’t sure how he’s going to slip him the serum this time. “I understand,” he murmurs, mind working quickly to try and get things back in his favor. His cover is already partially blown, and he’d like to get this over and make his escape as quickly as possible now. “This planet is most well known as a trade outpost. People don’t tend to stick around long.” 

“And yet you would still flirt with me?” Seonghwa challenges, quirking a brow at Hongjoong. 

The pirate shrugs his shoulders innocently. “What can I say? It’s hard to resist a temptation. Besides, I’m a traveler myself.” It is true, to a degree, so maybe the captain will buy it this time. “I’ve found that nothing will ever happen if you don’t at least try. And it worked, didn’t it?” He looks pointedly at Seonghwa who snorts before finishing off his drink. 

“You were quite awkward, but awfully persistent,” he tells the pirate, motioning to the barmaid for a refill. 

Hongjoong relaxes in his seat. Good, he still has a chance. “Admittedly, I am not the greatest at flirting,” he responds bashfully. It is an understatement to say the least. Hongjoong has never attempted to express interest in another person because he has never had interest in another person. “I’m shocked it worked on you,” he answers honestly. He had been about ready to throw in the towel and figure something else out more than once. 

Seonghwa laughs a little at that, thanking the barmaid when she returns with another drink for him. Hongjoong takes another sip of his own drink, careful to keep up with the captain but at a slower pace. “It was quite annoying at first,” he says, again dipping the lemon twist into his drink a few times. “It was kind of cute though. You’re cute.” 

Hongjoong tugs at the collar of his shirt, face heating up at the compliment because he’s genuinely pleased by it. “Thank you,” he says softly, dipping his head down, “for giving me a chance.” It has a double meaning not that Seonghwa has to know that. 

He lifts his head up, staring at something over Seonghwa’s shoulder. The captain notices, setting his drink down on the table as he knits his eyebrows together. “Is something the matter?” he asks. 

“Oh,” Hongjoong snaps out of his daydream, hands drawing back from the table to his side. He fits one into his pocket, fingers curling around the little bottle of serum. “Nothing. I just swear that guy over there was staring at us.” He nods in the direction he’d been staring, quickly drawing the drug from his pocket when Seonghwa turns to look over his shoulder. There is no one staring at them, but there is a man sitting alone a few tables away. Hongjoong only manages to squeeze one drop in before he pulls his arm back, right hand curled into a fist around the bottle as he lifts his drink up with his free hand. “Perhaps I’m just the paranoid sort,” he remarks before finishing his drink. 

Seonghwa stares at him, head cocked to the side as Hongjoong sets down his empty glass. His hands fall back to the seat, slipping the bottle back into his pocket before he, too, asks for a second drink. The captain reaches for his glass, and Hongjoong can’t help but hold his breath as he hands off his empty glass to the barmaid. When he takes a sip, he releases that breath, leaning his head against the wall their table is situated next to. He hopes he comes off as tipsy and not relieved. 

Seonghwa finishes his drink and seems physically affected by the serum by the time Hongjoong’s second drink even arrives. The pirate hands over his payment to the barmaid and thanks her for her service, keeping a close eye on the captain. He groans, resting his elbows on the table and leaning his forehead against his fist as he stares down at the table top. 

“Are you alright?” Hongjoong asks him. 

“Yes,” Seonghwa responds. “I’m just...I think I must have drank too much.” 

“Do you usually get drunk this quickly?” Hongjoong asks, feigning concern. 

“No.” Seonghwa furrows his brows together in confusion. “I’m—usually I’m fine.”

“Perhaps it’s just been awhile,” Hongjoong suggests, sliding out of his seat and reaching out to aid Seonghwa. “Come. I can help you back to your ship.” 

Seonghwa stumbles out of his seat, catching himself against the pirate. “But you haven’t finished,” he observes, motioning wildly to Hongjoong’s untouched drink. 

“It’s fine,” the pirate assures, adjusting Seonghwa’s limbs to better carry him. “I’m more worried about you. Come. There is an inn nearby. I can get you a room there.” He helps the stumbling captain out of the bar, gritting his teeth because the man’s stature is bigger than his own, and it’s not exactly easy helping him out when he’s practically leaning his whole weight against Hongjoong. 

Thankfully as a planet used to seeing a lot of incoming traffic, the port city is littered with various inns to cater to traveler needs. Hongjoong needs only to cross the street to find one, asking for a single room from the innkeeper there who hands him a key without question. Getting Seonghwa into the room is another struggle though he manages, dropping the captain down onto the single bed with a huff, arms aching from the effort. 

He bends down, placing his hands over his knees as he takes a moment to catch his breath. Almost done here, he cheers himself on. He straightens back up to find Seonghwa struggling to stand up, crawling towards the edge of the bed. “Whoa, calm down,” he says, pushing the captain onto his side. It’s easy enough—the man hardly able to hold himself upright anyways. “You need to lie down and rest.” 

Seonghwa struggles back up to his hands and knees, glaring at Hongjoong. “What did you do?” he demands. 

“What?” the pirate asks. 

The captain moves quickly, snatching Hongjoong by the wrist and, with surprising strength, pulls him down onto the bed with him, pinning him onto his back. “You slipped me something,” The captain accuses. “You must have.” 

“I did no such thing,” Hongjoong lies through his teeth, shoving the man away from him. 

Seonghwa briefly loses his balance but keeps Hongjoong pinned down, eyes narrowed at the pirate. “You’re right handed,” he says, mind astonishingly clear for someone in his state. Hongjoong stares at him for a moment before he shoves him to the side this time, quickly rolling off the bed and putting some distance between them. He supposes that San said it would only make him seem drunk as opposed to actually being drunk. “You do everything with your right hand,” he observes, pointing an accusing finger at the pirate. “So why did you suddenly pick up your drink with your left hand?” 

This man is terrifying, Hongjoong thinks briefly as he plasters a smile on his face. Enough of this facade. “Alright, you got me,” he announces. “I am, in fact, trying to steal something from you.” 

Seonghwa stares at him in disbelief. “You what?” he asks. 

“You’re transporting something in secret, aren’t you?” Hongjoong asks, needing to see if the drug San gave him even worked. 

Seonghwa presses his mouth into a thin line like he’s trying to hold in an answer, but then he blurts out, “yes.” The captain covers his mouth with his hand, looking horrified with himself. 

“A simple cloaking device?” Hongjoong asks. 

“It’s an Empire military designed device. It does  _ far _ more than merely cloak one’s presence,” Seonghwa says before biting his lip. “What did you give me?” 

“Nothing harmful,” Hongjoong assures him with a dismissive wave. He leans against the wall, watching with some guilt as the captain seems to struggle to get himself under control. Hongjoong wasn’t much of an expert of the effects of a truth serum. It was a drug invented and primarily used by Ar’ons, an alarmingly militant race that humans tended to give a wide berth. They used it on their criminals mostly, but it’s not something humans regularly used or had access to. He doesn’t even want to know how San got his hands on some. “Where are you keeping it?” he asks. 

Seonghwa bites down on his lip like that will keep him from answering. Hongjoong waits patiently for him, and soon enough the words come tumbling from the captain’s mouth. “In the hull. In a locked room by the armory. You won’t be able to just get in.” 

“I’m not too worried about the getting in part,” Hongjoong tells him, tilting his chin up confidently. He knows San will have no problems with it. Locks were hardly a deterrent for the blond. “I have one last question for you,” he announces, approaching the captain and leaning down until they’re eye level. Seonghwa eyes him warily, fingers digging into the sheets below him. “You are the captain of the ESS Horizon. Are you aware then, Captain, that you are delivering this technology to the Sartyran military and not a sector of your own?” 

Seonghwa is visibly shocked by the question. “ _ What?  _ We’re not. Why would we deliver something like this to an enemy?” 

“And are you aware of what will happen to you and your crew upon completion of your mission?” Hongjoong adds. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demands. 

The pirate pulls away from the captain, satisfied with his response. He expected as much based on what San had told him. Still even his stomach churns at the thought. He’s not much of an Empire sympathizer considering his occupation, and he probably wouldn’t have cared much for this man’s fate under any other circumstances, but even he can’t help but feel sorry for the man. More importantly, he made a promise to San. It’s time to see this through. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Hongjoong says quietly. Reaching out, he grabs Seonghwa by the shoulders, guiding him to lie down on his back. “It’ll be over soon. You should get some rest for now.” 

“You tricked me,” Seonghwa says, not able to resist when Hongjoong rearranges him on the bed. 

“I’m a pirate,” Hongjoong scoffs, grinning at the dumbfounded expression on the captain’s face. “Captain of the Aurora at your service,” he introduces himself with a mock salute. “Consider yourself lucky. You’re one of only a handful of people who know who I am.” 

“Why would you tell me then?” Seonghwa asks suspiciously. 

“Consider it an apology for tonight,” Hongjoong says, pulling away from the captain. “And because I think you’ll find that you owe me one, so don’t report me to your superiors, and we’ll call it even.” 

“What—” 

“You’ll know in due time,” Hongjoong hushes him. “For now just rest. This will be over soon.” He leaves a cup of water by the bedside table for the captain before he leaves the room. As he steps out into the cool, night air he pulls out his scroll from his back pocket and opens a message for San. His part is done. It’s up to the blond from here. 

  
  
  


Hongjoong’s message comes in just when Yunho breaks away from his friend, heading towards the restrooms. This is the opportunity he’s been waiting for. The younger man looks at him questioningly when San nudges him on the arm. “Now,” is all the blond says before he leaves the table to follow after Yunho. Rolling his eyes, Wooyoung downs the last of his beer, slamming the glass back down on the table, before he heads over to the bar. 

San posts himself near the restrooms, glancing around as he waits for his prey. He sees Wooyoung making his way over to the bar, sidling up to Yunho’s friend like he asked. San tries to suppress his grin. Perfect. A few minutes pass before Yunho emerges, walking by San without a glance, and the blond immediately jumps into action. 

He follows after the taller man, reaching out to grab him by the elbow. Yunho turns to face him, stunned when he sees San. Pleased with himself, the blond pulls Yunho closer as he pushes himself up on his toes. “Fancy running into you here,” he purrs into the elder’s ear. 

Yunho shivers, though whether it’s from the words or the feeling of San’s breath against his skin is unclear to the blond. “What the hell, San?” he hisses, scanning the bar. “What are you doing here?” 

“Oh, just a routine stop,” he lies. 

“On an Empire aligned planet?” Yunho asks doubtfully. He looks around again, clearly paranoid. “What if you’re recognized?” 

San can’t help but smile at the question. “Are you worried about me?” he asks, tugging him closer so he can burrow into Yunho’s side. The older man sputters at the question and attempts to pull away, but the blond clings tightly to him, refusing to let him get away that easily. “That’s so sweet of you, but you don’t have to worry too much. I’ve been laying low.” 

“Laying low?” Yunho hisses at him. When he realizes that San isn’t letting him go any time soon, he at least pulls the blond into a corner of the bar, boxing him in against the wall to help hide him. “Your crew made a pit stop on an Empire aligned trade outpost, and you’re telling me that you're  _ laying low? _ ” 

San leans back into the corner Yunho has him trapped him, shaking his bangs out of his eyes before he tilts his head back to look up at the taller man. “I mean, I haven’t stepped foot outside of my ship until now,” he defends with a small little sniff. “I’m not trying to get myself caught, you know?” 

Yunho shakes his head at him. “You’re an ex-Cerberus agent that’s a known pirate now. And you’re on Mercuria,” he scolds the blond. “None of that screams ‘trying to lay low’ to me.” 

“Then,” San says slowly, lifting his hand up to trace a finger along Yunho’s jawline, “why don’t we go somewhere a little more private?” 

Yunho frowns at him, reaching up to grab San’s hand. He pulls his hand away from him and shakes his head. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” he tells the blond. 

“Don’t be like that,” San whines, arms wrapping around Yunho’s waist to pull him close when he tries to pull away from him. Yunho tries to pry his hands away from him, taking a step back, but San is nothing if not persistent. Every time Yunho manages to push one arm away, he wraps the other around Yunho. “I need to talk to you,” he says seriously. Yunho stops fighting him at that point, and San knows he’s piqued his interest. “Let’s go back to your quarters.” 

Yunho smiles at the suggestion like it’s a good joke. “No,” he responds almost as soon as the words leave San’s lips. 

“Why not?” the blond pouts. 

“Unauthorized personnel are not allowed on the ship.  _ Especially _ a pirate,” he explains even though he knows San is well aware of it. 

San licks his lips, pushing himself off the wall to lean in closer to Yunho. “Come on,” he presses. “It’s not like I’m trying to hitch a ride or anything. I won’t even be there for that long.” His eyes fix on Yunho’s lips, and, throwing caution to the wind, he pushes himself up and presses their lips together in a kiss. “I just want a little time with you,” he says quietly when he pulls back. 

“Why not your cabin then?” Yunho challenges, catching himself when he leans down to try and chase San’s lips. 

“Like you’d step foot on a pirate ship,” San teases. It’s a fair enough assessment. One that Yunho can’t deny. “Just to talk,” San promises, tugging on Yunho’s shirt like a petulant child. “It won’t take too long, I promise.” 

The engineer reaches down to cover San’s hand with his own again, but he doesn’t try to remove it this time. He just holds it against his chest. “I could get into a lot of trouble,” Yunho tells him. “We could just get a room at an inn instead, no?” 

“You could,” San acknowledges with a thoughtful expression. “We could, but I don’t want to?” 

“Why not?” Yunho sighs in frustration. 

“Yunho,” San calls for him, waiting until the engineer looks at him. “Trust me?” 

Yunho’s adam apple bobs when he swallows thickly. “What?” he squeaks. 

“Do you trust me?” San repeats, tugging at his shirt again. 

The elder stares at him warily. “I don’t know,” he answers slowly. The grip he has over San’s hand tightens, but, again, he doesn’t try to pull him away. 

San tuts at him, clearly displeased by the answer, lowering himself until his heels touch the ground again. “It’s a yes or no question,” he urges, refusing to accept such a vague answer. “Do you trust me or not?” 

“I want to,” Yunho answers quietly. “But I don’t know if I can.” 

“You can,” the blond insists. “I need you to, at least this one last time.” 

Yunho hesitates. “Why?” he demands. 

“Because I’m trying to help you,” San tells him. “Let me help you.” The engineer bites his bottom lip, searching the blond’s expression for any hint of a lie. He thinks of Yeosang’s words and wonders if he really will make the right choice. 

  
  
  
  


Yeosang hiccups, placing a hand against his chest, when Yunho walks back up to him. Yunho had bought him a particularly strong drink earlier, and the hiccups started after that. “Took you long enough,” he says between hiccups, turning to look at Yunho and startling when he notices that the man beside him is definitively not his friend. “Sorry!” he apologizes quickly, covering his mouth with his hand when he hiccups again. “I thought you were someone else.” 

“It’s no problem,” the man tells him, lazily lifting one hand up to catch one of the bartender’s attention as he yanks off his hood with the other. He looks down at Yeosang’s empty glass and offers, “Can I buy you another drink?”

“Oh no.” Yeosang waves his hands frantically. “I’m not much…” he trails off as he gets a good look at the stranger next to him. He looks oddly familiar, though it takes a moment for the reason to come to him through his hazy brain. When it hits him, his stomach twists into knots and his heart pounds against his ribcage. He nearly falls off his own barstool, but the man reaches an arm out, steadying him around his waist and helping him stay up right. 

Yeosang shoves him away. “It’s you,” he hisses at the man. 

“It’s me?” the man repeats, pointing to himself. 

“Pirate,” Yeosang growls at him, glancing around the bar—perhaps in search of someone to help him deal with the situation or perhaps to see if anyone overheard him. 

The man—pirate—stares at him thoughtfully, lips puffed into a small pout. Yeosang feels the palm of his hands become clammy. What the hell was a pirate doing here? What the hell was  _ this _ specific pirate doing here? Finally, he says, “Have we met somewhere before?” 

Yeosang sputters at the question. “Have we—” he begins to repeat before catching himself. There’s no need to entertain this pirate, he tells himself. He kicks his legs out and leans forward to slide off the bar stool. This was his territory now, and the pirate is the one at a disadvantage this time. However, as soon as his feet touch the ground, Yeosang yelps when a set of arms wrap around his waist, pulling him back onto the stool. He blinks before snapping his gaze up to the pirate. 

“Let me buy you another drink,” the man offers. Yeosang parts his lips to tell him off, but the man turns away from him when a bartender comes by to see what he wants. The doctor’s jaw clenches in annoyance, once again attempting to jump off the bar stool. He needs to go find a superior or some sort of authority who can arrest this man, but, again, the pirate turns to him, keeping him in his seat. 

“What do you want?” Yeosang demands, slapping the pirate’s hand away from him. 

The man tilts his head thoughtfully, glancing behind him. Yeosang follows his gaze but can’t figure out who or what he’s looking at. “I want to buy you a drink,” he finally answers, turning his attention back to Yeosang. 

The doctor narrows his eyes, feeling like every nerve in his body is on fire. All he needs to do is just alert someone, but the pirate seems keen on keeping him on the bar stool. “A pirate wants to buy me a drink?” he asks in disbelief. Everything about that phrase seems wrong. 

Apparently the pirate must agree because he responds, “Well, as it so happens I’m off duty currently, so I’m just a friendly patron trying to buy you a drink.”

Yeosang actually snorts at his excuse. “Being off duty doesn’t mean you’re not a pirate anymore.” 

“Sure it does,” he insists, thanking the bartender when he comes back with two drinks. He places a beer down in front of the pirate and the same strong cocktail Yeosang had just finished in front of him. The doctor eyes the drink and makes no move to grab it. “Can’t you accept a truce for now?” the pirate asks when Yeosang doesn’t respond to him. “I’m not trying to do anything to you, really. I’m just spending my leisure time getting a drink.” 

Yeosang presses his lips into a thin line, unimpressed by the pirate’s offer for a truce. “You threatened my friend and I the last time we met,” he sneers. He’s not trusting the pirate on anything. 

“Ah,” his face lights up in understanding. “Is that where I know you from then?” He squints at Yeosang who leans away from him, hands coming up to grip the bar to help him keep his balance. “Well, like I said I’m off duty, so I’ll play nice.” 

“Yeah right,” Yeosang scoffs. 

The pirate takes a sip of his beer before leaning in towards the doctor. “I’m Wooyoung, by the way,” he introduces himself. 

Yeosang pointedly refuses to meet his gaze. “Didn’t ask,” he responds, his tone icy. 

“Not very friendly, are you?” Wooyoung notes. 

“Not to pirates,” the doctor snaps back quickly. He hunches his shoulders, glowering up at the pirate. He adds, “Not to pirates who threaten me.” 

Wooyoung shrugs him off in favor of sipping at his beer, hissing a little at the bitter taste when he sets it back down. “As I recall I neither harmed you nor your friend. Yunho, was it?” He grins when Yeosang startles, clearly surprised that he remembered such a fact. He recognizes the smaller man now. The one who had hid behind Yunho. Wooyoung barely remembered him considering the fact that he really only saw the man in passing. What he does remember, however, is the doctor dropping Yunho’s name. If nothing else, he can be proud of the fact that he might have saved his friend’s and his own life with that one. Wooyoung hadn’t been messing around with his threats up until that point. 

“You remember his name?” Yeosang asks. It occurs to him then that it’s been a while since he last saw Yunho. He leans back in his bar stool to look around Wooyoung’s body in the direction of the bathroom. He scans the crowd but can’t catch sight of his friend. 

Wooyoung leans over to him. “I could remember yours, too, if you’d give it to me,” he says into Yeosang’s ear so as to be heard through the loud chattering of the bar. 

Yeosang shies away from the action, one hand shooting up to cover his ear protectively. “You’re annoying,” he tells the pirate, attention diverted back to the man at the bar. 

“You’re mean,” Wooyoung counters back childishly. He reaches a hand out for Yeosang’s drink, scooting it closer to the doctor. “You could at least take the offer. I put it on my tab for you.” 

“How nice of you.” Yeosang rolls his eyes, reaching out to wrap his hand around the glass but not to lift it up to drink. “Must be nice spending other people’s hard earned money and all.” 

Wooyoung slips a hand into his coat pocket, bringing out a card which he waves in front of Yeosang’s face. “Hell yeah it is,” he responds because San hadn’t asked for his card back—so set was he on cornering his boyfriend alone. Wooyoung wasn’t nice enough to just overlook that. “It’s on my crewmate, so please. Drink as much as you want.” He nods towards the glass in Yeosang’s hand again. 

A thought suddenly crosses Yeosang’s mind at Wooyoung’s words. “You crewmate,” he repeats quietly to himself. “You know who Yunho’s partner is then?” He stares at Wooyoung as the pirate finishes off his beer. 

“Who, San?” Wooyoung asks with a tinge of annoyance. He doesn’t want to talk about it. 

“Is that his name?” Yeosang realizes that Yunho never actually told him, just revealed that he was someone who was once precious to the engineer. “He’s a skinny guy, blond hair, really angular face,” Yeosang describes, trying to recall what the pirate had looked like. 

“Sounds like San,” Wooyoung acknowledges quietly. 

Yeosang leans forward then, resting his elbows on the bar top. “Tell me about him,” he demands. 

Wooyoung turns himself so he’s facing the doctor, leaning his weight against the bar as he regards Yeosang curiously. “You want to know something?” he questions. 

“I want to know everything,” Yeosang answers seriously. He needs to know what kind of mess Yunho is entangled with, and if this guy is just going to stand around wasting his time he figures he should use that to his advantage. 

After thinking it over for a moment, Wooyoung grins at him. “Sure,” he agrees easily enough. “But you don’t get something for nothing.” Yeosang sucks in a harsh breath, waiting for Wooyoung to name his price. The pirate points to the drink he has a grip on. “So drink up, and tell me your name.” 

The pounding of his own blood vessels clog up his brain as he stares reproachfully at the pirate. This can’t be considered an equal trade, can it? Yeosang is suspicious but his curiosity is, admittedly, outweighing his caution. Curling his fingers tightly around the glass, he finally picks it up for a small taste. “I’m Yeosang,” he answers. 

“Nice to meet you,” Wooyoung purrs at him. He takes a step closer to the doctor, thoroughly invading his private space and leans down to ask, “What would you like to know?” 

  
  
  


It’s really amusing, Wooyoung thinks, how easy it is to tease the doctor. He had done what San had asked and more, keeping the doctor pinned down at the bar for hours, regaling him with stories about the blond. He hadn’t exactly been too interested in listening to Wooyoung swoon over him as he recounted the exact moment he was sure he liked San himself, but his annoyance and discomfort only fueled him further. Every time Yeosang would take a sip of his drink just to distract himself from Wooyoung’s unnecessarily detailed description of San’s lips, the pirate would gleefully take note. 

Within the first hour, the doctor is definitely drunk. Wooyoung is fairly certain he doesn’t even know how many drinks he’s even had. He knows the first couple of drinks he bought for the doctor had been rejected before eventually being downed to block out the sound of Wooyoung talking. In his defense, though, Yeosang had asked him to tell him everything about San. It’s not Wooyoung’s fault that “everything” included things he evidently didn’t want to know about. 

Yeosang is also incredibly bad at holding his liquor. Wooyoung almost wonders what the hell he’s even doing at a bar in that case but concludes that, well, he probably played a big part in getting the doctor to his current state. 

“I’ll have you arrested,” Yeosang threatens him when Wooyoung decides he’s had enough and finally closes out their tab. He wraps one of Yeosang’s arms around his shoulder, placing one of his own around the doctor’s waist to steady him as he helps him off the barstool.

“Come again?” Wooyoung says, leaning in closer. He couldn’t discern the doctor’s words through all the slurring. 

“Don’t touch me,” Yeosang declares with more clarity this time. He attempts to pull away from Wooyoung, but the pirate has a good grip around his wrist, and the most he does is momentarily slow them down when he stumbles over his own feet. “Get your hands off me, pirate. I’ll have you arrested.” 

“Oh, okay, sure.” Wooyoung rolls his eyes at his threat. “Don’t arrest me too quickly, otherwise I’ll just have to leave you in the middle of the street here.” 

“You’re a pirate on Mercuria.” Yeosang narrows his eyes at Wooyoung. “You can’t possibly think you’ll just be able to leave?” 

Wooyoung shrugs his shoulders, dragging him towards the nearest inn he can find. “We haven’t been caught yet,” he simply answers. He’s not particularly worried about it. Mercuria isn’t a stop they would typically make, obviously, but they also know how to blend in. So long as they don’t stand out too much and do what they can to stay out of the public eye, Wooyoung has no doubt they’ll just fly under the radar. Of course, willingly coming in contact with someone who immediately knew who he was probably hadn’t been the wisest decision, but—glancing down at the man in his arms—he can’t say he’s all that worried about being caught right now. 

“I know who you are though,” Yeosang says, swinging his free arm around to smack against Wooyoung’s chest. He pokes him a few times. “You won’t get away.” 

“You keep telling yourself that,” Wooyoung encourages him sarcastically. “For now, you should probably sleep it off. I wasn’t expecting you to get this drunk.” He adjusts his grip on the doctor, tugging him towards an inn he sees in the distance. Really he’s doing more than he even needs to at this point. San is probably long gone by now, and Yeosang seems to have forgotten he was even with his friend at some point this night. 

He probably could have just left Yeosang behind to fend for himself, but he prides himself on being a gentlement first and foremost. And although Yeosang is quite combative with him, Wooyoung can’t help but find his antics amusing. Besides, he doesn’t have anything better to do, he reasons with himself. There won’t be much to do on the ship if he goes back, not until San returns with their loot. The only other thing worth his time would be tracking down Mingi and Jongho to teach them a lesson, but why waste his time looking for them when they’ll have to come back to the ship eventually. 

So he ultimately decides to keep himself entertained with Yeosang just a little bit longer. “You can tell the authorities about me tomorrow once you’re all sobered up and everything,” he assures the doctor, patting him on the back of his hand as he pulls him into an inn. “I promise, on my word as a pirate, that I will be waiting by my ship with my crewmates all cuffed up and waiting for them.” 

“Really?” Yeosang asks. 

“No.” Wooyoung orders a room for one night. He slips the arm around Yeosang’s waist back around so he can grab the key the innkeeper holds out for him. Then he slips the arm back around Yeosang to pull him over to the lifts. 

“Of course,” Yeosang sighs, leaning heavily against the pirate. “Why would you tell the truth?” 

Grunting, Wooyoung gets him into the room. “You,” he pants out, depositing Yeosang on the floor as soon as he has the both of them in the room, “are a surprisingly difficult drunk to deal with.” He heaves a couple of breaths because despite his small size, Yeosang isn’t all that light. He stumbles over to the single bed in the room, collapsing onto it tiredly. He’s a little tipsy himself, and the whole trip has winded him more than he would have expected. 

“I’m not drunk,” Yeosang protests from the ground, leaning his head back against the wall. He’s surprisingly coherent for his drunken state though he still slurs his words together. Wooyoung laughs at the hilarity of the situation. What the hell is he doing here in the company of a military professional? He was supposed to have a fun night out drinking with the boys. How did he become a decoy for his own crewmate to get some action? 

When his laughter dies down, Wooyoung sits up in the bed, staring at Yeosang who’s curled himself up on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. “You ever been this drunk before?” he asks curiously. 

Yeosang’s head lolls against the wall, lips parted as he takes in deep, ragged breaths. “No,” he says, squeezing his eyes shut. “And I’m not drunk.” 

Wooyoung snorts at his denial. There’s something distinctly funny about a drunk guy denying how drunk he is. “You should know better than to go drinking with a pirate,” he scolds the doctor like he’s reprimanding his own rebellious child. “You knew I was a pirate, but you still drank with me anyways. This is why you’re in this situation.” 

“I’m not drunk!” Yeosang proclaims loudly, pointing an accusing finger at Wooyoung. “And you tricked me.” 

The pirate bites down on his lip to suppress his smile. Hilarious. “I did no such thing. And, if you’re really feeling that way, why don’t you get yourself up off the floor and come over here.” He pats the bed invitingly. “It’s much more comfortable then the floor.” 

Yeosang reaches behind him, placing a steadying hand on the wall behind him. Taking in a few deep breaths, Yeosang gathers his strength before he tries pushing himself up. With a grunt he pushes himself up before immediately falling forward onto his knees, throwing his hands out to break his fall. The pirate erupts into a fit giggles on the bed. Annoyed as he is by the pirate, it’s hard for him to articulate such things in words. “Fuck,” he curses quietly, picking himself off the floor more carefully this time. 

He stumbles over to the bed the pirate is perched on, collapsing onto the mattress next to him. “Good job,” Wooyoung praises him, looking over the lump of a person lying next to him. He curls himself up on the bed, resting his head against his knees so he can still look down at the doctor. “Here, I’ll even give you a reward for your effort. I’ll actually tell you something about San.” He pats the lump next to him comfortingly. 

Yeosang groans beside him, shifting his body. “No thanks,” he refutes the suggestion, reaching out blindly for a pillow. Wooyoung slides one closer to him, watching with a bemused smile as he hugs it to his chest. “I don’t need to hear about how pretty you think his eyes are. Pass.” 

“I was just messing with you when I said that shit,” Wooyoung admits. 

“I figured.” Yeosang burrows his face into the pillow. “You should never trust a pirate.” 

“And yet you are, aren’t you?” Wooyoung asks, unfolding himself to stretch his legs out. “Look at you, all alone in a room with a pirate. Drunk. I could do anything to you if I wanted.” 

Yeosang picks his head up from the pillow to look at him with a frown on his face. “Do it,” he challenges with baseless confidence. “I’ll end your criminal career right here and now.” 

Wooyoung covers his smile with the back of his hand. “San didn’t actually want to join us,” he tells the doctor. “He wasn’t looking to become a pirate. He was looking for passage back to his home planet.” 

His words pique Yeosang’s interest, the doctor rolling over to face the pirate. “After he abandoned his post?” he clarifies. 

“Well, of course,” the pirate answers like it’s obvious. “He was hiding out on Thudros until things blew over. We found him there, but he was looking for passage not work. Anyways, our captain took a liking for him. I did too, just to set the record clear.” Yeosang rolls his eyes because even he could have guessed that. “It took some convincing to get him to join our crew.” 

“And how did you convince him?” 

“With money, of course.” Wooyoung shrugs his shoulders. “Money is a great motivator. We’re all doing it for money if we’re going to be real about it. San is a bit different when it comes to that too though. He’s been saving up his money to give to someone else.” 

“Yunho?” Yeosang guesses. 

Wooyoung smiles ruefully. “How did you guess?” he asks sarcastically. Yeosang’s expression twists in annoyance, and Wooyoung quickly drops his demeanor. “Anyways, there you go. That’s basically San in a nutshell. He’s a fool for your friend, so think whatever you want about us, but count your lucky stars that you’re friends with Yunho. San wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.” 

“What you say and what he’s done tell two completely different stories,” Yeosang criticizes. 

“Like I said, you can think what you want. I’m just telling you what I know.” With a sigh, Wooyoung tilts his head up towards the ceiling, wondering what he should do now. Should he just leave? He doesn’t know if he can return to the ship just yet. He’s anxious about San. Will this work? What will happen if they fail? Both he and Hongjoong seemed really serious the past couple of days. At the same time, Wooyoung isn’t too sure about staying here with Yeosang either—even if a drunk is much easier to deal with than his own thoughts. 

“You know,” he chides, “you really owe me one. I bought you drinks, got you a room, gave you elicit information on my own crew mate.” He tuts with a shake of his head. “And what have you given me in return?” 

Yeosang picks up his pillow, sitting up to shove it in Wooyoung’s face and knocking him over. “I haven’t turned you in,” he growls. 

Wooyoung swats the pillow away with a small cough. “I suppose that is something,” he acknowledges, tossing the pillow aside. He sets a hand down on the mattress between their bodies and leans in close. “With a pretty face like yours, though, I guess I was hoping for something more.” 

The doctor makes a noise of disgust in the back of his throat that has Wooyoung laughing at him. “I shouldn’t have expected anything better from you. Do you honestly expect me to think you’re being anything more than an annoying flirt after listening to your swooning over your own crew mate, do you?” 

“Maybe I don’t want you to think I’m being anything more than a flirt,” Wooyoung suggests. “Besides, you owe me.” He places a hand on top of Yeosang’s thigh which the doctor quickly smacks away. 

“You really could have picked an easier target for a one night stand if that’s what you were going for.” 

“Alas,” Wooyoung sighs dramatically, “that wasn’t what I was going for, so I guess I’ll have to make due with you.” He eyes Yeosang up and down curiously, amused at the way the doctor wraps his arms around himself protectively. 

“You certainly have a way of making someone feel special,” he deadpans. 

“And you,” Wooyoung says as he adjusts his position on the bed, “sound like you’re beginning to sober up.” He moves to sit up on his knees, planting his hands on Yeosang’s shoulders. Like this he has leverage over the doctor, and he’s able to push him onto the bed. Yeosang yelps when his back hits the mattress, hand reaching out to brace himself against Wooyoung. “Can I make out with you?” 

“What? No!” Yeosang knee curls up into the pirate’s abdomen, and he groans at the feeling but keeps his composure. 

He rearranges Yeosang’s legs, pinning them to the bed with his own. He grabs the doctor by the wrists next when he tries to fight him off with his hands, pinning those beside his head. “Aw, come on. It’s just a little bit of fun.” He leans into the doctor’s personal bubble, watching as he presses his lips tightly together like that will stop Wooyoung. “Don’t you want to have even a little bit of fun?” 

Yeosang shakes the hair from his eyes, narrowing them at Wooyoung. “Not with you,” he answers. 

“Why? Am I not attractive enough?” 

The question is meant as a joke, but Yeosang actually looks him up and down thoughtfully. So thoughtfully that Wooyoung actually rolls his shoulders back, angling his head in what he hopes is a flattering way. Then he mentally smacks himself for such an action. “No, but you are a criminal.” 

Wooyoung completely disregards the second half of his statement to focus on his initial answer. “You think I’m attractive?” he asks, practically preening. 

“I didn’t say that,” Yeosang denies. 

“You implied it.” The doctor glares at him in annoyance, arching his back as he strains against Wooyoung. “I’ll make it worth your while. Just for tonight.”

Yeosang continues to resist him. His effort and strength are weakened by drink, but while Wooyoung might not have been the strongest among his crew, he’s fairly confident that Yeosang wouldn’t have been much of a challenge for him either way. “I’m not so low as to do anything with a pirate.” 

“I’m not asking for your hand in marriage,” Wooyoung jokes. “And anyways, is that not an insult to your precious friend?” 

Yeosang finally relaxes under his grasp. “You really want to do this? Fine. I’ll entertain you.” Wooyoung smiles at the fire in his voice, wetting his lips with his tongue. Oh does he love a challenge. 

  
  
  
  


Yeosang doesn’t quite know what he expected. He doesn’t remember what he expected, but it hadn’t been this. He hadn’t expected the pirate to hold him down, pinning him to the bed with one arm pressing down over his throat and collarbone while he worked Yeosang over with his other hand. 

The doctor had a vice grip over Wooyoung’s forearm, originally in an attempt to fight him off, though it quickly turned into a sort of life line as he gasped for breath, hips bucking into the palm of Wooyoung’s hand whenever he ground it into Yeosang’s cock. The restrictive feel of his pants as they clung to his legs only added fuel to the fire. Yeosang admits that he came embarrassingly quickly, spilling hot and sticky into his own pants with a choked off moan while his fingernails dig little crescent marks into the pirate’s skin through the light coat he’s wearing. 

Wooyoung eats up all the sounds he makes too, licking into the doctor’s mouth before sealing his lips over Yeosang’s. His hand continues to work over Yeosang’s cock, taking delight in the way the body underneath him absolutely trembles in pleasure. His thighs shake, abdomen contracting and relaxing, and he bucks his hips up, not to chase any more friction but to dislodge Wooyoung from him when the stimulation starts to border on painful. 

“Sensitive,” Wooyoung teases, pressing his palm down into Yeosang one last time before he pulls off the doctor. He relishes in the little gasp of pain Yeosang releases before he pulls off him completely. The doctor relaxes into the mattress then, practically melting into the sheets. “I told you I’d make you feel good,” Wooyoung says, leaning over Yeosang. 

“Shut up,” the doctor growls at him. “Nobody asked.” 

Wooyoung sighs dramatically, turning over to sit at the edge of the bed again. “And here I am, doing something for you again,” he complains, leaning over to pull his shoes back on. He’d taken them off after initially pushing Yeosang onto the bed, not wanting to ruin the sheets with his dirty boots, but also expecting them to get significantly more naked than they had. It was the only article of clothing he even removed. 

“Don’t whine to me when you basically lived out your fantasy through me,” Yeosang snaps back, squirming around uncomfortably. He feels gross now, his underwear wet and sticky. 

“Fantasy?” Wooyoung asks incredulously. “That’s a damn disappointing one then.” 

Yeosang scoffs, sitting up himself and looking down at himself with a sour expression. He contemplates whether or not he wants to take off his pants and underwear. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me that’s not what you’ve been hoping to do to your crewmate? I’ve been listening to you talk about him all night long.” 

“Oh, baby,” Wooyoung purrs, his persona back in place as he leans into Yeosang. The doctor shrinks away from him, but it doesn’t deter Wooyoung. He leans in until his lips are pressed against the shell of his ears. “I was thinking only about you. Besides, you’re nothing like how I’d imagine San would be. He’d be sinful. You’re just adorable.” 

“You’re gross,” Yeosang scoffs, pushing him away with an elbow to his ribcage. “And now I’m gross thanks to you.” 

Wooyoung rolls his eyes and mutters, “so demanding.” He pushes himself up from the bed. “It’s not  _ my _ fault you were complaining that we couldn’t fuck, and I had to get you off like a horny teenager,” he continues to grumble, motioning to Yeosang’s pants. “Take them off.” 

“What?” he gasps, scandalized as he tries to cover himself. 

“Take them off,” Wooyoung repeats, reaching out to undo the button of his jeans. “I’ll clean them for you.” 

“You’ll what?” Yeosang fights off his hands, yelping when Wooyoung shoves him backwards onto the bed. He undoes the buttons and pulls down the zipper before he’s tugging at them. Yeosang squeals, trying to fight him off though he does little more than make Wooyoung’s job more difficult. His pants are already difficult enough to pull off what with it clinging to his sweaty skin. He manages though, fighting them off each foot. 

Yeosang’s underwear is much easier though he absolutely shrieks when Wooyoung pulls them off in one go. The doctor rolls onto his side, curling up as he tries to hide himself, but Wooyoung doesn’t linger to look. Bunching the clothes up, he turns to head for the bathroom. Stunned, Yeosang peaks over his shoulder just as Wooyoung disappears into the bathroom. 

Turning on the water in the sink, Wooyoung ultimately sets aside the pants. They’re not really a mess, and instead shoves the underwear under the water. “What? You’re actually washing those?” He turns his gaze over to the door at the question, raising a brow at Yeosang who stands there, shirt pulled down to cover himself. It’s honestly cute. 

“They’ll be dry by tomorrow,” Wooyoung explains. 

“Yeah, but—” he hesitates, tugging his shirt down lower. Wooyoung stifles a laugh. “Why?” 

The pirate shrugs his shoulders, thoroughly washing away the cum and—probably—the shame Yeosang feels along with it. “Because you were whining. And like I already said before, I’m clearly a gentleman. Look how well I’ve taken care of you this whole night.” 

Yeosang stares at him while Wooyoung wrings the water out of the clothing. He drapes it over the counter to dry overnight. “Why?” the doctor suddenly demands. 

“Don’t think about it too hard,” Wooyoung advises as he dries his hands off. He pats Yeosang on the cheek as he pasts him and makes for the front door. 

“Where are you going?” Yeosang asks. 

“Uh.” Wooyoung pauses at the door to look at him. “Back to my ship?” 

“But what about—” Yeosang cuts himself off, eyes straying down Wooyoung’s body. He quickly looks awa, unwilling to finish the thought. 

The pirate grins, reaching out to slide the door open. “I’ll keep in mind that you owe me one,” he says. “I’ll see you around when I come to collect.” He blows a playful kiss at Yeosang who turns his head away in disgust, fingers turning white from the grip on the hem of his shirt. 

“I hope I never see you again,” he mutters once the door slides shut after Wooyoung. 

  
  
  
  


Sneaking San onto the ship and into his room is a laughably easy feat that Yunho doesn’t want to dwell too deeply on. He herds the blond into his quarters quickly and quietly before turning on him. “Okay,” he says roughly, advancing upon the smaller man. “Explain everything—” he gasps, words cut off when San practically dives at him for a kiss. His mouth is hot and wet against Yunho who can’t help but give in for a second—kissing him back—before he grounds himself. “No,” he says sternly as he pushes San away. “You’re not going to use that same trick again.” 

“This is no trick,” San responds, though he doesn’t go for another attempt. Instead he walks over to Yunho’s cot, perching himself on the edge of it. He motions for the engineer to join him. Hesitating, Yunho curls his hands into fists before eventually joining him, sitting himself down next to the blond. Reaching up, San places one arm over the elder’s chest, fingers coming around to caress his neck. Yunho inhales sharply but doesn’t protest as San finally says, “Last time you said you were angry with me because I didn’t give you an explanation.” 

Yunho turns to look at him, eyes searching for the blond’s. “You were ambitious,” he acknowledges in a soft voice. “You were always ambitious. It’s not a shock to me that you ended up recruited into Cerberus. You were ambitious, and you had a bright future ahead of you. You had all these things, but you gave it up to become a pirate.” San’s expression is not what Yunho would describe as closed off in any way. San only really closes himself off when in an argument. Yunho has only been on the receiving end of it a few times, and this is not it. However, while he might not be closed off, his expression remains unreadable. Yunho has no idea what he’s thinking. “That doesn’t sound like you at all.” 

The corners of San’s mouth twitch, a ghost of a smile pulling at them. “People change,” he responds in an equally as low voice. “Views change. The way I see the universe is different now, Yunho, but my motivations haven’t changed.” 

“What motivations?” 

The blond smiles, lifting himself up to lean over Yunho. His intent is obviously to push him down, but the elder leans his hands back to brace himself, so San just ends up half crawled into his lap. He doesn’t seem phased however, taking each action in stride. “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to,” he responds as his gaze drifts around the room. His eyebrows knit together when he fails to spot what he wants to find. “Where is the Galaxy Drop?” 

Yunho’s eyes immediately move to his closet, perhaps unconsciously or not. San follows his gaze. “I can’t just have it out in the open,” he explains. “And don’t change the subject. Give me an answer,” he demands. “Why did you leave your post to become a pirate?” 

Licking his lips, San pulls his gaze away from the closet to look down at Yunho. Moving quickly, San reaches out, digging the pads of his thumb into the elder’s inner elbow. Yunho yelps at the feeling, it’s not very painful, but his instinct is to bend his arms, and, with that action he falls onto his back with a breathy grunt. “I did not leave to become a pirate,” he answers, shifting himself so he’s comfortable atop Yunho. “It was an opportunity that found me, and I took it.”

“Why?” 

San removes his hands from Yunho, bringing them up to cup the elder’s face. He expects him to use the opportunity to fight the pirate, and he does. Grabbing the blond by his wrists, Yunho hooks one of his legs with San and rolls them over to pin the blond to the bed. The pirate doesn’t struggle in his hold. 

“Because,” San shifts to make himself more comfortable on the bed, “it meant I could continue traveling, but it was also lucrative. I needed the money.” 

Yunho narrows his eyes, lips pressed into a thin line. “For what?” 

The blond grins up at him lopsidedly. “What do you think? You checked your bank account recently like I asked, right?” 

Frowning, Yunho tightens his grip around San’s wrist, and the pirate bites his lip. “How did you even get that information?” 

“The same way I knew you were here. The same way I was keeping in contact with you.” 

“So you  _ were _ following us,” Yunho accuses. 

“I’ve been following  _ you _ ,” San corrects. 

“Why on earth? You haven’t contacted me in months! Why are you suddenly now following me across entire fucking galaxies?” He presses San down into the mattress, his fingers flexing under Yunho’s strong grip.

“I didn’t have the resources nor the sway with my captain at the time.” San tilts his head back. “But it was always part of my plan.” 

The grip on his wrist slackens, and Yunho pulls back just a little bit. “Your plan?” he repeats skeptically. 

San nods his head once. “Yes. My plan. I want you to have the life you’ve always wanted.” 

Yunho snorts derisively at that, pressing his weight back down on San. “The only thing I wanted was to be with you. That’s why I’m here, because  _ you _ wanted to go to space.” 

“You never had to follow me,” San tells him. “Tell me you’re not homesick. I know you. You always liked lounging around the cabin.” Yunho bites down on his lips, eyes straying down to stare at San’s collarbone. “You never wanted to be in space.” 

“No,” Yunho agrees, “but it’s where I ended up.” 

“Puppy,” the blond coos at him, watching with satisfaction at the way Yunho stiffens at the pet name. “Puppy, do you trust me?” 

“Should I?” he asks. 

“Do you?” 

Yunho hesitates, unsure of how to answer. “Trust you on what?” he shoots back. He doesn’t know why he’s so hesitant to answer, perhaps worried that if he tells the truth he might only be disappointed. San already hurt him once. He doesn’t want it to happen again. 

“It doesn’t work like that.” The blond frowns at him. “You trust me or you don’t, so do you trust me?” 

“You ask so much for giving me so little,” Yunho criticizes. “Do I trust you? What reason have you given me to trust you? You didn’t tell me anything when you left. You’re still just only giving me crumbs of information. How should I trust you?” 

San seems stunned into silence by the question, expression blank as he stares up at Yunho. Disappointed, Yunho releases his hold on the blond’s wrists, sitting up on him. “I’m afraid that if I tell you everything, you would not believe me,” the pirate finally speaks. “That’s why I need to know if you trust me.” Yunho heaves in a deep breath that does little to ease San’s worries. “Do you love me?” the blond blurts out, startling Yunho who stares down at him incredulously. 

“What?” he asks. 

“Do you love me?” San repeats with more confidence. 

“Of course I do,” Yunho answers. 

The blond smiles, pleased by the lack of hesitation in his answer. With his hands now free, he lifts himself up enough to catch Yunho into a kiss. “Then trust me,” he pleads in a whisper when he pulls away. 

Yunho doesn’t respond right away, shivering when San’s hands come up to wrap around his waist. His professional opinion is that he should not trust San. The blond is a pirate, an outlaw, but he has to admit that he’s also not behaving in a way that Yunho would expect from someone like him. Before him is a pirate, but all he can see is the boy he fell in love with years ago. “Okay,” he croaks out before he can doubt himself.

“Good. Then come here,” the blond purrs, drawing the elder closer. 

“San—” Yunho protests. The pirate isn’t having any of it though, cutting off his objection with another kiss. He licks along the seam of Yunho’s lips before sucking on his bottom lip when the elder parts his mouth with a little sigh. “You said you’d tell me the truth,” he reminds the blond though it doesn’t stop him from kissing San again. 

“And I will,” San assures him, pulling Yunho down with him as he falls onto his back. His knees fall open, making room for Yunho who grunts when he drapes himself over San. The blond moves his hands down to Yunho’s hips, fingers reaching around to dig into Yunho’s ass. “Let me have this moment first,” he whines as the engineer moans at the action, hips jerking against San’s abdomen. 

Licking his lips, San pushes himself up for another kiss. His tongue slides against Yunho’s as he closes his eyes, rolling his hips up against Yunho’s thigh. “Fuck,” Yunho curses as he breaks the kiss. “We don’t have time for this.” 

San moves his hands up from the elder’s ass to tangle in his hair. “We have plenty of time,” he insists, pulling Yunho flush against his body. He peppers little kisses along Yunho’s jawline. “Let us have this,” he says in between kisses. “I don’t know when we’ll have the opportunity again.” 

“This really isn’t the time though,” Yunho protests even as he grips San’s chin with his hand. He pushes the blond’s head to the side, enjoying the way San pants and squirms underneath him, before he trails kisses along the side of the pirate’s neck. 

“It’s the only time though,” San says before a moan escapes him when Yunho sucks particularly hard at the junction between his neck and shoulder. 

“I won’t let you leave without an explanation,” Yunho warns, warm lips moving against San’s collarbone. His fingers are curled around his hips, his palm warm against the blond’s skin. San arches his back at the touch. “Not again.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he sighs, hands reaching down to catch the hem of his sweater. He shucks it up his chest, struggling to take it off. Yunho presses his palms into San’s stomach, pushing them up underneath his shirt before tugging off the sweater and tank top in a mess of fabrics. The blond bites his lip, arching his back and tilting his chin up. He makes himself look as enticing as possible, and it works because Yunho finally abandons his reservations. 

The engineer’s fingers ghost along San’s ribcage, up towards his pecs where his thumbs stroke over the blond’s nipples. San keens at the touch, fingers twisting into the sheets on either side of his head. The sound breaks off into gasp when Yunho presses their hips together, and he tries to grind up into the older man. “Yunho,” he moans the name out, reaching to grasp him by the face before pulling him down into a kiss. This one is rougher than before, teeth clashing as their tongues slide over each other. 

“Yunho,” he gasps out, reaching out to tug at the hem of his pants. “Please.” His hands slide down to palm at the bulge there. Yunho sucks in a sharp breath, hips rolling down to chase the friction. “I need this,” San says, tugging harshly enough that the button comes undone. 

Yunho reaches down to take his hand, holding it in place to stop him. “I don’t—” he says through heaving breaths, looking around his little room. “I don’t have anything. We can’t—” 

San draws his hands away from Yunho, lifting his hips up to dig his fingers into his back pocket. From it he pulls out a small packet of lube which Yunho eyes with suspicion though he smiles at the elder innocently. “You planned this,” Yunho accuses. 

“I plan everything,” San quips back. “Now please,” he pulls Yunho in close, whispering the words against his lips, “fuck me.” 

  
  
  
  


San relaxes into the mattress, fingers combing through Yunho’s hair as his gaze fixes on the ceiling. His cock rests heavy and hard against his stomach, but he hardly notices—his focus entirely on running his hands through the elder’s hair, tracing his fingers along his spine. Yunho shivers at the sensation, and he brings the small packet the blond brought up to his lips, tearing it open with his teeth. The sound rings through the pirate’s ears, and he lets his legs fall open, allowing Yunho easy access. He steadies his breath, focusing on the feeling of Yunho’s hair between his fingers, his nails just barely scratching the elder’s scalp. 

When he slides the first finger into San, the blond tenses up, brows furrowing at the intrusive feeling. It’s been awhile since they’ve been together like this. The slide isn’t even painful, just unfamiliar. “Okay?” Yunho asks when he notices the tension in San’s body. 

“Yeah,” he breathes out, forcing himself to relax. “Yeah, I’m okay.” 

Frowning, Yunho pumps his finger in and out experimentally. San shudders at the action, rolling his hips down to chase the friction. “More,” he grunts as he pulls the elder down for a kiss. He wraps his arms around Yunho’s neck, holding him down that way as he sucks on his bottom lip. Yunho obliges, slipping in a second finger and pressing them in deep. 

The blond tilts his head back at the sensation, back arching and his hips pushing down on those fingers. “Puppy,” he moans, fingers curling into the little baby hairs on the nape of his neck. Yunho scoffs, pressing his nose into San’s neck. 

“I can’t believe you still call me that,” he complains, curling his fingers. 

San releases a stuttered breath, hips bucking up. “That’s because—” he licks his lips. “That’s because that’s what you are. My sweet puppy. You listen to me so well, and you follow me around everywhere.” He tilts his head down to press a kiss on top of Yunho’s head, inhaling sharply when he pumps his fingers into San with more force.

“I do not,” he denies, pausing to add a third. A shiver runs down the blond’s spine, and his cock aches from arousal. 

“You do,” San breathes, lips parting in a silent moan. “You followed me all the way into space.” 

“Whatever,” Yunho dismisses. San laughs at his response though it quickly morphs into a gasp, his thighs trembling when Yunho begins to finger fuck him in earnest. His hips twitch, cock leaking a bead of pre-cum. Yunho trails kisses up the column of his neck, tongue coming out to taste his skin. 

“Puppy,” he pants, knees locking against Yunho’s ribs as his long fingers abuse his prostate. “Yunho, please.” 

The elder pulls away from him, fingers slipping out of his hole. San whines at the loss, knees falling back open. He’s so hard he just wants to reach down and tug himself to completion, but refuses to relinquish his hold around Yunho’s neck. 

“Yunho,” he pleads, tugging at the elder’s hair. 

“I got you,” he hushes the blond, leaning down to kiss him. It’s messy and wet, Yunho hardly able to keep up with San because he’s busy coating his cock with the rest of the lube. San leads the kiss for him, tongue running against the roof of his mouth. Yunho shudders, fingers forming a tight ring around his shaft for a few more quick pumps before he forces himself to pull away. 

Yunho tries to pull away, but the blond doesn’t let him, yanking him back down when he tries. With a yelp, he throws his hands out on either side of San’s head, catching himself falling on top of the blond. San lifts himself up to catch his lips in another kiss. Yunho tilts his head, moving his lips along with San’s. He loses himself in the kiss, almost completely forgetting about his cock hanging heavy between his legs. When he presses his body flush to San’s he remembers how hard he is, both of them moaning at the friction. 

“Shit,” San curses as he pulls away from the kiss, hips bucking up into Yunho’s as he tries to chase the friction. Finally Yunho is able to sit up, tongue poking out to run along his bottom lip. The blond stares at him, eyes fixated on his reddened lips and pink flushed cheeks. Yunho always looks so nice when he’s aroused. The elder runs his fingers along San’s thigh, watching as goosebumps form along the trail he makes. They come to a stop at the blond’s knees and he hooks his arms underneath them to lift them up. “I really missed you,” San whispers, his breath hitching when Yunho presses a kiss against his knee. 

“Are you going to tell me why that is?” Yunho challenges. 

“Yes,” San groans, fingers digging into the sheets when Yunho pushes his knees up to his chest. “But can it wait?” 

Yunho sits up on his knees, holding the base of his cock to line himself up to San’s hole. “Only because I’ve missed you just as much,” he sighs before sinking himself inside. San holds his breath as he reaches out to wrap his own hands around his knees to hold them for Yunho, lifting his head up to watch. When he’s fully seated inside the blond finally releases that breath, head falling back to the mattress. “You good?” he asks in a hoarse voice. He moves his hands down San’s legs, gripping him by the hips. 

It doesn’t hurt, but he feels so full, incredibly so. He clenches up around Yunho which causes the elder to groan, nails digging into his hips, before he relaxes. “I’m good,” he responds as he digs his fingers into the back of his knees. 

Biting his lip, Yunho grinds his hips into San. The blond arches his back and groans, “I hate you.” The elder pauses his motions as he presses his face into San’s shoulder to stifle a laugh. “You know me too well,” he complains. It felt good. It always does, but it’s not stimulating enough. 

“Sorry,” Yunho apologizes, continuing with the small little thrusts as he adjusts himself. Using his arms, he boxes San in, shifting on his knees until he can get leverage over the blond. Then he starts moving his hips with purpose, finally fucking the blond the way he wants. 

San’s toes curl, broken moans falling from his lips with each thrust. The tip of his cock smacks against his abdomen with every thrust, the pre-cum smearing over the head and over his stomach. “Yeah, just like that,” San encourages him, fighting the urge to reach down and play with himself. Not yet, he thinks to himself. 

Yunho lifts his head from the blond’s shoulder, panting as he works to maintain the pace of his hips. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoes through the room, and—had he been in the right state of mind—Yunho probably would have stopped. They’re not at home. This is hardly private even if this is his own quarters. He doesn’t think about that though. All he can think about is the tight, slick warmth around his cock that San’s body offers and the way his eyes look, pupils blown and dark. His blond locks stick to his forehead, his face flushed and lips parted. 

Unable to resist, Yunho leans down to kiss him. San moans, and he swallows all those sounds. “Fuck,” he groans, pulling back when San clenches around his cock. It’s been long. Too long. He won’t last. A fire burns in his pelvis, quickly building up. San gasps, his hole tightening around Yunho’s cock again. The elder glances down the length of their bodies, biting back a groan when he sees San furiously pumping his shaft with one hand. 

His other hand is still locked underneath his knee, holding it close to his chest. His other leg has fallen back to the bed, spreading him open nicely as he twists his fist over his shaft. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, puppy,” he curses out the nickname as he throws his head back, stomach contracting and relaxing as he comes. His cum spills out over his pelvis, and he shudders through the orgasm, fist tightening right under the tip of his cock. 

“Oh, my god,” Yunho moans, hips stuttering as he rapidly hurtles towards his own orgasm. 

“Not yet,” San gasps, unhooking his hand from his knees to grab Yunho by the shoulder. He pushes on him, trying to get him to roll over. 

He whimpers as he gives into San’s demand, cock slipping out of the blond’s warm hole when he rolls onto his side. San pants, taking a moment to come down from his high before he sluggishly rolls onto his side lifting himself up to his hands and knees. His limbs feel weak, like jelly, as he reaches out to gently prod at Yunho’’s shoulders again. The elder rolls onto his back, spreading his legs open. 

He expects the blond to settle between his legs, maybe bend over to take his cock into his mouth, or at least a quick hand job to finish it off. But San crawls over his lap, settling himself over Yunho’s waist as he reaches down to hold Yunho by the base of his cock. His breaths have calmed down by now, and the cum on his stomach is already cold, but he doesn’t seem to notice or care as he sinks down on Yunho’s cock. 

“Oh!” Yunho gasps in surprise, hands coming up to press his fingers into San’s hips as his cock is once again engulfed in wet heat. He holds him hard enough to bruise—not that the blond minds. 

Grinning down at him, San reaches up to comb his fingers through his damp hair, arching his back in a show. It does the job, and Yunho rolls his hips up into him in a desperate search for friction. Pleased with his teasing, San braces himself against Yunho’s chest and begins bouncing on his cock. He bites his lips, eyes sliding shut at the feeling. It hurts, but in a way that he doesn’t mind. He’s not used to the feeling of overstimulation. They’ve never really tried, but he bites his lip through the tinge of pain, picking up his pace. 

“Fuck, San,” Yunho groans as the blond rides him. The flame that had fizzled out when San had first coaxed him onto his back has returned, igniting sparks in his pelvis. San leans over him then, grabbing Yunho’s hands and pulling them away from his hips. He pins them above the elder’s head, fingers threading together as he picks up the pace. Yunho is close. So close. San feels so good around him. 

He rolls his hips down once more, and Yunho cums with a loud moan. The sound is quickly swallowed by San’s lips, and Yunho swears he can see actual stars behind his eyelids as he comes. He releases deep into San, the pirate clenching down on him as he sits on his dick. His breathing is heavy and labored when San pulls away from his lips, eyes still shut as he waits to come down from his post-orgasm high. It’s usually a slow process for him, especially when his cock remains buried in San. However, reality quickly rushes back to him this time when he hears the distinctive clink of his handcuffs. 

His eyes fly open, and all the warmth he’d previously felt drains out of him at once. His right hand is restricted, when he tugs there’s resistance, the other end clanging against the metal railing of the bed frame. His left hand is free, though, and he reaches out just as San sits up, wrapping his hand around the blond’s throat. San stills in his hold, staring down at him with wide eyes. 

“I knew it,” Yunho whispers. The anger isn’t there though, just the bitter feeling of disappointment. 

“Don’t,” San warns him, reaching up to grab Yunho by the wrist. He doesn’t pull though because this isn’t about forcing Yunho to comply with him anymore. He needs the elder to let him go on his own terms. “This is about giving you an alibi.” 

“An alibi?” Yunho repeats, fingers tightening around San’s throat. It’s not tight enough to choke but just strong enough to be threatening. 

“Trust me?” the blond asks him again. His skin is warm against Yunho, and he doesn’t move to fight him off, apparently more than content to just stay in his spot. Yunho presses his lips together. His grip momentarily tightens around the blond’s throat before he ultimately relieves the pressure, fingers trailing down the San’s chest. 

The blond releases the breath he’d been holding before bracing his hands on Yunho’s shoulders and sliding off his lap. He moans softly when Yunho’s cock slips out of him. The older man bites his tongue to hold in any sounds of his own, watching as San begins to collect his clothing from the bed and the floor. The atmosphere is tense as San dresses himself. 

Yunho doesn’t say anything as San finishes dressing himself, shifting himself to sit up as best he can with one of his arms restricted. He expects the blond to say something then, but he doesn’t. Instead he heads for the closet, rifling through Yunho’s belongings. 

“San,” he calls for the blond, leaning over to peek at him. 

“One second,” he calls back. He hears the faint thud of the Galaxy Drop against the bottom of the drawer, and his heart momentarily jumps into his throat before he reminds himself that it’s fine. San was the one who gifted it to him after all. 

“Tell me the truth,” Yunho demands, arm straining against the cuffs. They rattle against his bed, but they don’t yield. San returns from his closet, setting down the Galaxy Drop by Yunho’s hip and unfolding the pair of pants he grabbed. Yunho thinks about kicking his foot out when the blond attempts to help him into the pants, but thinks better of it. It’s not as if it would help him at this point anyways. 

“The truth is that I don’t give a shit about the device you're carrying,” San finally answers as he pulls the waistband over Yunho’s hips. “You wanted to know what I want, right? I want to stop you from making the delivery. That’s all that I want, and I swear to you that’s the truth.” 

Yunho blinks, not expecting the answer at all. He expected San to maybe proclaim how he’d just been using him this whole time to get to his real goal. That Yunho was a fool for trusting him. The angry rant on the tip of his tongue dies upon hearing his answer, and he can only ask, “Why?” 

San reaches out to cup Yunho’s cheek, and the rest of anger fades when he sees the grim expression on the pirate’s face. “A year and a half ago, another ship had a similar mission,” San begins in a hushed voice. Swallowing thickly, Yunho tips his head down. “My unit received orders to eliminate them. Everyone on board was to be terminated.” 

Yunho tenses up, and he immediately pulls his hand away, fingers curling into fists as the blond holds it to his chest. “Why on earth would you receive orders like that?” the elder asks. “What did they do? Shouldn’t they have gotten a trial?” 

“We were told they were traitors. Their crime was high treason. Under martial law, the command could be executed without a trial.” 

“Martial law? We’re not—” 

“The war against the Federation may be a cold one, but it's enough to declare martial law,” San interrupts, eyes cast to the ground. “And martial law triumphed in this case. They wanted to keep it under wraps though—wasn’t good for morale that one of our own committed treason—so we were tasked with the duty.” San sucks in a deep breath, arm slowly lowering to his side. “I helped carry out the order. It was my job, and I was told they were traitors.” 

Yunho peers up at him through his bangs. “But...they weren’t?” he guesses. 

“If it were true that their captain sold valuable military secrets, I could believe it.” The pirate scoffs, nose wrinkling in distaste. “But the whole crew? Something felt off to me, and you know me.” He smiles ruefully. “I went digging. It took me a while, tracing their logs back to the enemy’s and then to my own higher ups. They were set up just like your crew is right now.” 

“What—” Yunho pauses, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. His free hand hovers by his head for a short moment before he presses his fingers into his temple with a sigh. “What are you talking about?” 

“The captain and the crew of that ship had no idea what they were actually doing for the Empire,” San explains, arms crossed over his chest. “They were expecting to make a routine delivery to another one of their bases, but when they arrived they were met with an Azaroth envoy. I can only presume at that point that they were incredibly confused and reluctant to finish out the trade. The Azaroths had only to present the proof that the Empire agreed to the trade.” The blond folds his arms together, staring pensively at the Galaxy Orb next to Yunho’s lap. “Either way, they carried out the command, handing over the supplies to the Azaroths because it was what the Empire ordered. We were only told that they had given their supplies an enemy race though. Hence enough to make a case for high treason.” 

Yunho shakes his head. He’s listening to San, but the words seem almost incomprehensible. No, unbelievable actually. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he responds. “Why would they give their cargo to an enemy race?” 

San releases a frustrated sigh, planting his hands on Yunho’s knees and leaning forward into Yunho’s face. “Because that’s what the Empire wanted them to do. I scoured their logs, I looked through the orders they received. Never  _ once _ did it mention who they were to make the delivery to, only where they were to go. They were set up,” he repeats. “And you’re being set up too. You, your captain, your crew. Everyone. Where are you taking this device?” 

“Just—” Yunho swallows thickly. “We have a base on an outpost planet. It’s nothing exciting. It’s just a routine delivery,” he breaks off into a broken whisper by the end. He’s suddenly not confident in his own answer. Did their orders explicitly state they would be making the delivery to their own base? Or had they just assumed that?

San nods his head along with his words and says, “Yes, because that’s what you’ve been told. That’s what your captain was told, but that’s not who’s going to meet you on landfall. A Sartyran ship will meet you, the trade will be finished, and your crew will be branded as traitors.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would they do that?” Yunho asks, unsure if he believes San. Nothing about his story makes any sense. This has happened before? This will happen to them? Nothing about that makes any sense, but he also doesn’t think San would just lie to him. He hasn’t always told him everything, but he also hasn’t lied to him before. Not that Yunho can remember at least. 

“For money,” San scoffs, pulling away from the older man. “Why else would they do it? They need money to fund their war with the Federation. These alien races might be enemies of the Empire as well, but they’re not actively at war with them either.” 

“They need an army too,” Yunho argues. “What’s the point of wiping out the entire crew of one of their own ships?” 

“Because their empire is vast. Recruiting soldiers isn’t nearly as difficult a task for them as getting the funding for their war.” San reaches out to cup Yunho’s face, fingers trembling against his skin. “That’s why I left.” He pulls away from the elder, turning away from him. “That’s the answer you’ve been looking for, right? I left because of what they made me do. They turned me into a murderer, and I don’t take that too lightly. That’s why I deserted.” He heaves in a deep breath while Yunho trembles on the bed. He can tell how upset the blond is; he can hear it in his voice. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Yunho asks in a quiet voice. He’s admittedly scared to provoke the pirate now. 

When San turns back to face him, he has his usual smile in place, and Yunho feels like he’s suddenly under attack. The smile is there, but the expression doesn’t reach him. “I didn’t want you to know,” he answers truthfully. “It took me a long time to come to terms with what I did myself. I didn’t want to tell you what I did.” 

“It wasn’t your fault though,” Yunho defends him. “You didn’t know.” 

“Even if that’s true that doesn’t alleviate the guilt,” San responds. “It still sits there, festering in my head.” 

Yunho winces. “Is that why you became a pirate then? To get back at the Empire?” 

San shakes his head. “No. Becoming a pirate was never part of the plan. I just wanted out of the military. I met my captain by chance, and I saw an opportunity, so I took it.” 

“An opportunity for what?” 

The blond shrugs his shoulders like it’s not a big deal. “I saw an opportunity to make a living so you wouldn’t have to worry about money and an opportunity to keep an eye on you. And I’m glad I did otherwise you just might have ended up dead.” 

Yunho furrows his eyebrows together. “You really believe that they’d kill us?” he asks doubtfully. 

“I know they would,” San answers. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his scroll and points at it. “I’ll send you everything I have. You can look through it yourself.” 

Licking his lips, Yunho tugs on his cuffed wrist, holding it up for display. “And this?” he asks. 

Grinning, San takes a seat next to the older man and reaches out to run his fingers through his hair. “You’ll be partly to blame for all of this, but I don’t want you to look complacent. This will make it look like you’re just another one of my victims.” He leans forward to peck Yunho on the tip of his nose. 

“Am I?” Yunho questions. 

“No.” San reaches out to run his thumb over Yunho’s bottom lip. “You’re my treasure.” 

Yunho wrinkles his nose, pulling his head away from the blond’s grasp. “That is so gross. Don’t ever say that to me again,” he complains. San laughs at him, standing up from the bed. 

“It’s okay. This will be over soon.” 

“And when it is?” Yunho asks. “Then what?” 

“I’ll come find you. I promise.” His smile is genuine this time because it reaches his eyes. “And I always keep my promises, don’t I?” 

Yunho can’t suppress his smile, reaching out to grab the Galaxy Drop and pulling it closer to his body. He supposes he can’t deny San that. 

  
  
  
  


The Aurora lifts off from Mercuria almost the moment San returns. He meets the others on the Bridge where everyone else is gathered. Hongjoong turns in his chair when the doors open, arching a brow at the blond. It’s the silent question which San answers with a nod of his head. 

“Wooyoung,” the captain calls for the navigator. Wooyoung looks up from where he has Mingi in a headlock, probably whispering all manners of threats into his ear after the way he and Jongho had ditched him earlier at the bar. He turns to Hongjoong with his arms still wrapped tightly around Mingi’s neck. “We’re leaving. I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.” Presses his lips into a thin line, reluctantly releases his hold on Mingi to head back to his own seat. 

Hongjoong holds his hand out to San, and the blond deposits a small cube onto his palm. The captain holds it up curiously. “This is it?” he asks. 

“Yes,” San confirms, walking over to Wooyoung and draping himself over his friend’s chair. He’s too antsy to sit down. 

“Mingi,” Hongjoong beckons to the younger man, holding out the cube for him to take when he approaches him. “See what it’s capable of.” With a nod, Mingi carries the device back over to his workspace. 

Wooyoung tilts his head back to look up at San. “You okay?” he asks. 

The blond tilts his head down to meet his gaze. “Yeah,” he answers. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Wooyoung wrinkles his nose, turning his eyes back to his controls. “You reek,” he complains. “You smell like sweat and sex.” 

With an exasperated sigh, San drags himself away from his friend. “Fine. I’ll go take a shower,” he announces.

“San,” Wooyoung calls for him, stopping the blond from leaving. He hesitates, glancing around the Bridge at everyone present. San cocks his head to the side, clearly waiting for him to continue. “You’re really okay right?” he asks in a low voice, searching the blond’s eyes for any sign of a line. “Everything’s good? With you and—” he swallows, reluctant to speak Yunho’s name. “And Yunho?” he forces himself to finish. 

San smiles at him. “Yes,” he answers. “Everything is good, so we can go.” 

“Okay.” Wooyoung relaxes in his seat. “I just wanted to make sure.” 

The blond reaches out to comb his fingers through his friend’s hair. “Thanks,” he says before pulling away because Wooyoung is right. He smells. 

  
  
  
  


Seonghwa pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh, resting his elbow against his desk. Yunho sits across from him, hunched down and eyes downcast in shame. Seonghwa is mad at him, but he also tells himself that he’s not being entirely fair. “This is a mess,” he mutters more to himself than anything. Yunho flinches at the words and does a fine job of making himself incredibly small for someone of his stature. Yeosang looks over at his friend, expression unreadable. The doctor shouldn’t really be here, but right now Seonghwa doesn’t have much of a choice. The three of them need to be on the same page. 

“I’m sorry,” Yunho apologizes, genuinely remorseful even though he doesn’t completely regret his actions. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Seonghwa asks. He sounds more tired than he intends. He meant to be firm, but between the absolute disaster he now has to deal with and all the information Yunho has dumped on him, he doesn’t have the energy for that. 

Yunho bites his lips, fingers intertwined together on his lap. He doesn’t answer immediately because he doesn’t know what to say. That he didn’t trust Seonghwa? That’s not true. He’s known him for awhile, trusted him to have his back. But it also doesn’t feel right to use the excuse he’d been telling himself up till now: that it wasn’t relevant anymore. San had been communicating with him. He’d been  _ tracking _ him for God’s sake, and Yunho should have known or at least suspected that the blond could do that. Maybe they would have even found it had Yunho come forward earlier because it had been relevant. 

Then there’s the truth. Yunho hadn’t said anything not because he didn’t trust Seonghwa or because he didn’t think it was worth bothering his captain about, but because he was trying to protect his lover. That was the actual truth. 

“I didn’t know he would go this far,” he says to Seonghwa, eyes glancing to Yeosang. And he didn’t want to jeopardize him. He bites his tongue to keep himself from saying the last part. The doctor narrows his eyes at him like he can read his thoughts. Maybe he can. He bows his head and apologizes again, “I’m sorry.” 

The older man sighs again—the sound long and suffering. “It’s not as if it’s completely your fault,” he admits. After all, he had also fallen for the pirate’s tricks. Waking up with a fuzzy memory and feeling of dread as he returned to his ship to discover their cargo had been stolen had been more than enough to induce a headache. He curses Hongjoong, the captain of the Aurora. He should be more furious, he thinks. He’d been outplayed by a pirate, and his own crew member might very well be a traitor to the Empire. His rank as captain is in jeopardy, and he’ll have to face the higher ups to sort this mess out eventually. 

Oddly, though, he’s not that angry. More than anything, he’s anxious and numb. Probably because of the data Yunho had handed over to him. The first thing he’d done once returning to the ship was to check their cargo. It was gone, of course, so he reviewed their security footage next. And what did he find but Yunho allowing an unauthorized person onto the ship. He was furious then. He’d been so ready to throw the engineer under the bus for everything, for betraying his trust, for allowing this to happen, but then Yeosang had shown up at his room with the engineer in tow. He had looked disheveled and apologetic, but he’d also been ready, spilling everything he knew about their mission and handing over the data that one of the Aurora’s crew members had given him. 

Seonghwa wasn’t sure what he expected when he took the information from Yunho, going through it with the doctor and engineer present, but it wasn’t what he came across. Now the anger is mostly gone, replaced by fear and dread as he eyes two of his crew members across his desk. 

“What do we do now?” Yunho asks quietly. 

Seonghwa sits up in his seat, frowning as he regards his engineer. “For now, we wait. My superiors are pissed, and we’re not to move until they arrive.” He laces his fingers together, looking down at his scroll thoughtfully. He has since deleted the files Yunho had given him, not wanting them to be found. “You don’t say anything about this,” he warns Yunho and Yeosang, pointing to the scroll. “Your friend’s information was...trustworthy, to say the least, and, considering the fact that he may very well be telling you the truth, the last thing we need is to let on that we know the truth. You play dumb about that, understand?” 

Yunho nods his head eagerly. Yes, he understands. Seonghwa looks over to Yeosang who seems a little more reluctant. “You believe a pirate?” he asks skeptically. 

“I don’t believe a pirate,” Seonghwa denies, even as he admits that he doesn’t have reason to doubt them either. Hongjoong had told him that he would owe him in the near future. Clearly this is what he meant. “I trust the information he gave Yunho. It’s real—and alarming.” 

“I just don’t believe that our own government would try to kill us,” Yeosang argues with a shake of his head. It’s too surreal. He can’t. 

“Tell them that and see if we survive,” Seonghwa challenges. The doctor presses his lips together, lowering his head to show that he concedes. The captain relaxes in his seat, tongue pressing against his cheek as he stares off into the corner of his quarters. “We won’t get out of this scott free, necessarily, but better alive and punished than dead.” 

“I’m really sorry, Captain.” 

“Don’t be,” Seonghwa says curtly. “I am angry. But I can’t deny that you probably saved my life. The last thing I really need to hear from you is an apology.” He breathes in deeply to calm his nerves. “For now we need to focus on the investigation that is sure to ensue. Only the three of us know the truth, and I need us to all be together in maintaining our silence.” He looks pointedly at the both of them. He knows Yunho is with him. It’s Yeosang he’s wary of, though he has faith that the doctor knows the gravity of the situation. He seems to be thinking about something at any rate, eyes down cast as he taps his finger impatiently against his knee

“Okay,” Yeosang finally says, agreeing for the two of them. He shares a look with Yunho, lips curling up into a little encouraging smile. “We all agree to keep quiet.” 

“Good.” He covers his mouth with his hands in a thoughtful expression. “You guys are dismissed for now. I need to think about what to do once the admiral arrives.” 

Yeosang stands up from his seat without hesitation, but Yunho is a little more reluctant to leave. He still looks like he wants to apologize. The doctor has to pull Yunho up by the arm, encouraging him to come with him. He eventually goes with the doctor, sparing his captain small glancing as he’s pulled out of the room. The doors slide shut behind them. 

“Yeosang—” Yunho starts, realizing that he probably owes the doctor an apology as well now that it’s just the two of them. 

“Save it,” Yeosang cuts him off as he releases the hold on his arm. “You made your choice.” 

“But still,” Yunho protests, fingers wringing together nervously. “I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” the doctor challenges, whirling around to face him. “What exactly are you sorry for? The choice you made? For siding with your pirate boyfriend?” 

The engineer startles at his bombardment of questions. It doesn’t help that he can’t quite discern the mood Yeosang is in at all. By the questions, the engineer would think he was upset or disappointed in him, but his tone gives nothing away. He doesn’t sound angry. He just sounds like he’s asking Yunho casual questions. “For everything,” he answers vaguely. 

Yeosang sighs at his response, looking around their surroundings before deciding that it’s probably best not to have this conversation so out in the open like this. He beckons for Yunho to follow him, leading the engineer down the ship corridors to his own quarters. He herds Yunho into the room before following after him, taking a deep breath when the door shuts behind him. 

“Seonghwa’s right,” he says before Yunho can even say anything. The engineer’s lips are parted, clearly ready to speak, likely to apologize, but Yeosang beats him to it. Then he sighs. “Honestly, that isn’t to say I’m not a little bit annoyed about the whole thing, but, if what San told you is true, you might have saved us all.” 

Yunho frowns at the sentiment. “I didn’t do anything though,” he protests. 

Yeosang shakes his head in disagreement. “You made us a target for the pirates,” he points out like that’s a good thing. Maybe in this case it is, but Yunho doesn’t know if he likes it. “And you made the choice to trust them.” 

“I—” Yunho doesn’t know what to say. 

“It’s not exactly an easy thing for me to simply come to terms with,” Yeosang explains, crossing his arms over his chest. He’d been thinking about Wooyoung’s words to be completely honest. The pirate said that he should consider himself lucky that he was with Yunho. Yeosang can only assume this is what he meant—that the pirates had saved them by proxy. Still, Yeosang admits it’s difficult for him to just accept that. Even if all evidence points towards the inevitable truth, he struggles to believe that his own government would actually perform such an act. 

“They’d want to cover up an arms deal like that,” Yunho murmurs. It wouldn’t look good if the public found out they were selling arms and other technologies to alien races. 

“Yes,” Yeosang agrees, expression grim. “It’s hard for me to believe they would strike such a deal to begin with.” 

Yunho bites down on his lip. He understands Yeosang’s point of view, but he’d looked over the evidence San gave him. He shared it with Seonghwa and Yeosang. What is there to refute? “San told me why he deserted,” he says in a quiet voice, drawing Yeosang’s attention. Yunho sucks in a breath before continuing, “This has happened before. An illegal arms deal between the Empire and an alien race, and they also wanted to keep that a secret.” 

Yeosang tenses, obviously caught off guard. “You’re saying they’ve done this before?” he gasps. That’s ludicrous.

“I know they have,” Yunho answers confidently, “because San used to be a member of Cerberus.” The doctor raises his eyebrows. Yunho hadn’t mentioned that previously. So he’d been an elite soldier then. Yeosang can respect that. “They received the order to kill the crew.” Yeosang releases a shuddery breath though he does an amazing job of keeping himself composed otherwise. He only realizes the slight tremble in his hand when Yunho reaches out to hold it, stilling the movement and comforting his friend. “That’s why he left and why he’s trying to stop this. He’s seen it before.” 

Yeosang forces himself to relax, squeezing the older man’s hand tightly with his own. “What do we do?” he asks. What does he do from here on out? How is he supposed to look at his job—no, his Empire—the same way again? 

Yunho shrugs his shoulders. “For now we should listen to Seonghwa. I’m probably going to get into a lot of trouble, so...” he trails off, uncertain of his own future. 

“Yunho,” the doctor calls for him, holding onto his hand tightly. “I’m here for you,” he says when the engineer looks at him. 

Yunho smiles at him, uncertain if he really deserves it. 

  
  
  
  


The little cabin on Cadus A13K that San once called home has, unsurprisingly, fallen into a decrepit state. Unused and abandoned for so long, San can’t say that it’s surprising. However, it’s showing signs of repair. He can see it in the way that one side of the cabin is coated in a new layer of paint and how while weeds line the little stone path up to the front door, no weeds are around the foundation of the cabin itself. In fact, San spies the beginning of a garden sprouting around the outside of the house. 

Tentatively reaching out, he winces when the front gate of the little picket fence he helped build creaks as he pushes it open. The wood is splintered, and it could definitely use some repairs. San makes a mental note of that as he slips inside. For a moment he scans the front yard, feeling entirely out of place even if this is technically his home. It hasn’t felt like one. Not in a long time. 

The sound of barking draws him from his daydream, and he takes a step back in a mixture of fear and surprise as a dog rounds the back of the house, charging straight at him while barking up a storm. San places his hands on top of the gate, ready to hop back over it if need be, but the dog stops just shy of him still barking with his tail hanging low. San eyes the creature warily. He doesn’t look like he’s liable to lunge forward and bite San at any moment, but that’s also not a guarantee that he  _ won’t _ so the blond chooses to stay put. 

“Hey! Who are you barking at?” a familiar voice calls out. San practically melts in relief, lips turning up into a smile when he sees Yunho come around the cabin, clearly following after the dog. He pauses when he sees San, staring at the blond like he’s seen a ghost. 

Nervously chuckling, he lifts a hand in greeting. “Hey,” he says. 

Yunho snaps out of it, quickly rushing forward to meet him. “Get in the house,” he commands the dog, pointing to the front door with a snap of his fingers. The dog barks a few more times at San for good measure before he reluctantly follows the order, trotting into the house with a huff. 

“You got a dog,” San notes as if it’s not obvious. 

“It gets lonely around here,” Yunho responds, eyeing the blond up and down. “You’re...back.” 

“I said I would be,” he reminds the older man. “And, you know me, I—” 

“Always keep your promises,” Yunho finishes for him, lips curled up in a small smile. He motions to the cabin, a gesture for San to head inside. “Sooner would have been nicer though,” he grumbles, though his tone has very little bite in it. 

Shrugging, the blond follows Yunho to the front door. He hesitates at the threshold, peeking inside before he slips in. “Well, it took awhile for it to be convenient for my captain to drop me off,” San says as an excuse. He looks around. The cabin is both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar because the layout is still the same, nothing about that has changed, after all, but also unfamiliar because nothing looks the same. The old furniture San can just barely remember is all gone, replaced by newer pieces that San doesn’t know. He can also tell that Yunho has clearly remodeled some parts of the cabin. He spies the dog curled up on a bed in front of the fireplace, eyes him suspiciously. He gives him a begrudging nod in acknowledgement because, well, the dog is taking care of Yunho right now. Like a lost puppy, he follows Yunho into the kitchen, taking a seat at the island when the older man gestures for him to sit. 

“You changed it a lot,” he blurts out, looking around the unfamiliar kitchen in awe. 

“It was falling apart,” Yunho tells him, leaning against the counter on his elbows. “And I have a lot of time on my hands now. More than I know what to do with, so I’ve been working on it.” 

Finally, the blond turns his attention to Yunho, taking him in for the first time in what feels like forever. His hair is growing long, falling into his eyes though he does his best to sweep them to the side. He’s wearing a dark green sweater and a pair of loose fitting pants. It’s everything San remembers, and his heart pangs with the sense of nostalgia. “What happened?” he asks in a quiet voice, searching Yunho’s face for any hint of anger. 

The older man pulls back at the question, turning to one of the cabinets. “Would you like something to drink?” he asks instead, pulling out a bottle of wine without any preamble. 

“Yunho,” San presses though he doesn’t protest as Yunho pours him a drink. 

With a sigh, he passes a half filled wine glass towards San, fingers twirling around the stem of his own glass. “We’re fine. Everyone was fine. The admiral came to conduct a formal investigation into the matter, and the parties deemed at fault were punished.” 

“Meaning?” San prompts, hands curling into fists on the granite top of the island. 

Yunho stares down into his glass, lips pulled into a frown. “Seonghwa was demoted. He was given a chance to stay on the ship, but last I heard he left. I think he’s teaching now.” Yeosang, well, he wasn’t considered a person of interest, and as far as he knows nothing has happened to the doctor. Yunho can’t say for sure though. He hasn’t heard from him since he left as well. “I don’t know what happened to my friend.” 

“And you?” San asks, sliding out of his chair to stand. He leans his waist against the counter, almost leaning over it. 

“I was stripped of my rank and dishonorably discharged for my part in aiding a pirate.” He takes a sip of his wine, peering at San over the rim. “So, I came home.” 

San breathes a sigh of relief. All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. “Are you mad at me?” he asks, settling back into his seat and finally taking a small sip of the wine. 

Yunho shakes his head. “No. I’m...glad to be out. It wasn’t the most graceful of exits, but at least I’m out now.” He glances towards the living room, a faint smile on his lips. “You were right, you know. I missed home. I wasn’t cut out for space.” 

“You were a great soldier,” San compliments him. 

“You were a better pirate,” Yunho retorts. The blond can’t suppress a cocky grin at that one. “Tell me something,” he requests, setting his glass down on the counter top. San raises a brow in question. “Did you plan everything out, or were you just winging it the whole time?” 

Setting his own wine aside, San plants his hands on top of the table so he can lean over into Yunho’s personal space. “You know me,” he purrs, balancing himself on one hand so that he could reach out with the other to run his fingers along the elder’s jawline. “I plan everything that I do. Every move I made was 100% calculated.” 

Yunho’s eyes flick down to look at San’s lips, but he doesn’t give in to the blond. Not yet. “Everything?” he asks skeptically. 

San’s lips form into a pout, pushing himself forward just a little bit more to try and chase a kiss, but Yunho pulls away from him. The blond drapes himself over the counter top in defeat. “Everything,” he affirms, voice sulky. 

“What was the point of the first attack then?” Yunho asks. “You could have stopped our delivery at that point, right?” 

Sighing, San forces himself upright as best he can with his torso practically over the island. “Yeah, but that wouldn’t have been helpful at all if I couldn’t get you to see the truth. They might have just sent you on another suicide mission, and you’d be none the wiser.” He licks his lips, still vying for a kiss even though he knows Yunho probably won’t let him until his curiosity is finally satisfied. Resigning himself, he slips back into his chair and clears his throat. 

“The purpose was three fold.” He holds up one finger. “The first was to set up contact with you again. I hadn’t been able to talk to you in almost a year, and despite everything, I knew that I hadn’t exactly left you with much of anything. I figured you’d be pretty pissed at me, so I needed to gain back your trust, but to do that I needed to see you.” Yunho presses his lips into a thin line but doesn’t interrupt as San holds up a second finger. “The second was to rob you of your supplies so that we’d force your ship to make landfall again. Based on where we attacked you, I knew you’d have to first go to Oceanus for repair but that you wouldn’t be able to resupply to make the rest of the journey. That bought me enough time to regain your trust so you’d let me onto your ship willingly when you inevitably had to stop to resupply. And the third was to get rid of Captain Kim.” He holds a third finger up, grinning at the way Yunho’s lips part in surprise. 

“Captain Kim?” he repeats. The first and second reason he hadn’t surprised him much. He pretty much figured that crippling their supplies had something to do with it, but getting rid of their captain? Yunho hadn’t expected that one at all. “Why did you need to get rid of him?” 

“He was a seasoned captain. Predictable, but seasoned. He wouldn’t have been an easily influenced target. Like I told you before, we knew you were carrying something, but we didn’t exactly know what, so where would we begin to look? We needed someone younger, less experienced, more...gullible to be in charge.” He glances at Yunho. 

“Seonghwa,” he states. The man fit their description, at least everything except the gullible part. Then he sputters. “Wait, you tricked Seonghwa?” He hadn’t known this. Seonghwa never mentioned it. 

“We strategically extracted necessary information pertaining to the location of your cargo,” San corrects even though he really doesn’t say anything different. “And we saved his life in exchange! So really, it wasn’t a bad trade for him.” 

“So it was all planned from the start?” Yunho asks. 

“All planned,” San confirms. 

“Just to save me? I was just one engineer.” 

San scoffs. “What do you mean just to save you? It was the only thing that mattered, and your entire crew was saved as well. The Empire can think that you’re disposable, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. Especially not to me.” He searches the elder’s expression for a moment, feeling like he still owes him something. “You said you haven’t heard from your crew mates in a while, yeah?” 

Yunho cocks his head to the side, curious as to why San would bring that up. Still, he nods his head. He doesn’t really know what they’re up to though he’s just glad that they’re alive. “We’ve been keeping an eye on them. They know who we are after all.” 

“I hope you’re not threatening them,” Yunho says, raising an eyebrow at the blond. 

He hums dismissively, turning his eyes away. It’s the expression of guilt, and Yunho rolls his eyes. “Your captain saw our captain. One of the few people who knows who he is,” he explains. “We were just being cautious, not that it mattered anyways. He gave a pretty false description.” 

“False?” Yunho asks. 

San snickers, remembering the sketch Mingi had come across when they stopped to resupply on their fuel. “He said Hongjoong was very tall with an imposing frame. He described him as middle aged with salt and pepper hair.” Hongjoong had stared at the sketch with a frown on his face while Mingi and Wooyoung basically clung onto each other for support otherwise they might have fallen over from laughing too hard. Needless to say Hongjoong had torn the thing up and banned everyone on the ship from even mentioning it again. 

“And Yeosang?” Yunho asks. 

“He’s still in medicine. Last we heard he was on Oria doing some volunteer work.” Yunho blinks at him. Oria isn’t far from Cadus. They’re not in the same solar system, but they are in the same galaxy. He hadn’t even realized how close he was to his friend. “Actually, they dropped me off here on the way there.” 

“To Oria?” Yunho asks. 

“We need a doctor,” San says, and Yunho sucks in a sharp breath. Yeosang. They’re trying to recruit Yeosang? “Wooyoung said something about your friend owing him,” the blond answers like he can read Yunho’s mind. Then his eyes catch on something over Yunho’s shoulder, and he slides off the stool. “That’s—” he pauses, staring at the Galaxy Drop on display at the windowsill. 

Yunho turns to follow his gaze, straightening up when he sees the orb sitting there. “Oh. Yeah. The view is nice from the kitchen window. I look out of it a lot, so I put it there. It’s probably not where it belongs, but I see it every day this way.” He wipes his hands down on his pants. A Galaxy Drop, one of the rarest pieces of natural art in the universe, and Yunho has it set up on the kitchen windowsill. San can’t help but laugh at that. It’s just something he would do. 

“No. I like it. I mean, you haven’t lost it yet either.” 

“It’s one of the rarest things in the universe,” Yunho squawks at him. “How am I going to just lose it?” 

“I probably would,” San admits. 

“I’m shocked you didn’t lose it between obtaining it and giving it to me, honestly.” San hides a laugh behind one of his hands, watching as Yunho reaches out to touch the orb. “Besides, this way I see it every day. It’s my reminder.” 

“Your reminder?” 

“Yeah.” Yunho looks at him. “My reminder that you love me. That’s what it’s for, isn’t it? It reminds me that you love me, and that you’ll come home. Eventually.” 

“And I have,” San proclaims, holding his arms open. 

“Yes,” Yunho agrees, folding his arms together over his chest. “But I’m not so naive to think that you’ll stay forever. You have your calling in space, and I have mine here.” 

San closes the distance between them, draping his arms over Yunho’s frame and leaning into his warmth. It’s true. He can’t deny that. He will go back to sail with his captain and crew again. He says as much to Yunho who silently accepts the fact, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have time. “You know,” he says, nuzzling his face into Yunho’s shoulder. “I asked them to drop me off. They have business to attend to on Oria, and I don’t know how long that will be. I have until they get back to spend time with you.” 

“Oria isn’t that far away though,” Yunho points out, tilting his head to rest against San’s. 

“That’s true, but I hear this Yeosang person is a bit of a stubborn bull. Something tells me they’ll be delayed coming to pick me up. Besides, I’ll always come back to you. I promise.” 

Smiling, Yunho tilts the blond’s head up, catching his lips in a brief but sweet kiss. “I know. Your promises mean the universe to me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself. Byeeee.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm never confident in anything I post. 
> 
> Anyways, it's almost completely written so there shouldn't be a ton of wait time between chapters.


End file.
